Ultimate Sacrifice
by Wild Fantasy
Summary: The death of Filgaia is unevitable, yet there is hope...the sacrifice of a maiden. The story of a girl's struggle to hide her duty while the world is blissfully unaware of their impending doom. Chapter 14 is up!
1. Meeting and a Dream

**Author's note**: Hey everyone, how you doin'? Ok, this is my first fic, so please go easy on me? Pretty please? Hi, I'm LadyAeris1997, a big Wild Arms freak(I own Alter Code. Yay!). Some of you might have met my sis Euphoria6A. Show of hands of the people that met my sis? Hope you enjoy this fic!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wild Arms 3. I wish I did...(starts crying)

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The night was perfect. The crickets chirped quietly, which doesn't happen often in the wasteland. The night was cloudless, and the breezes, which were usually bitter and cold, were actually cool and pleasant. The floor that a certain group of Drifters were in was comfortably warm and slightly springy, almost feeling like a real bed. A young woman, defying sleep, silently got up so as not to wake her fellow comrades. She needed some private time; what she was about to do had to be kept a secret. She hated secrets. She knew the heavy weight of untold secrets, having heavy consequences on the mind, and, ultimately, the body itself. Before she went to go to do her errand, she looked towards her friends.

They were sleeping, their faces calm and untroubled. Clive slept in a way that reminded the girl how the dead were placed; the body was ruthlessly straight, and the hands were placed on the tummy, fingers intertwining. Gallows laid against a rock that almost resembled a pillow. The Baskar's head was on said 'pillow' and his body was also straight, yet his arms and legs were spreadeagled. Lastly, there was Jet. The silver-haired Drifter's sleeping position was placing his hands under his head, which served as a pillow. His legs were crossed. The girl gave a sigh, seeing that her friends were untroubled by anything, unlike her. She had something to do.

The girl scanned her surroundings; she needed to go to a private place. The area where she and her companions were making camp was a small area sparsely surrounded by large rocks. The place was a good camping site. With the stealth of a cat, she left, running towards a secret place, any secret place. The place needed to be far away from her allies. She ran, still using her keen vision to detect a suitable place. A few moments later she found it; a small cave located in a semi-large hill. It was small and very dusty, but it will do. She entered.

The cave was rather cramped, and she had to bend down a great deal to enter farther into the cave. No matter, she will make do with what she had. She finally reached the end of the small cave and sat down in a huddled way. From her bag, she proferred twelve mediums, all made of gold. She gave a soft smile. Holding these mediums gave her a sense of security. Now she can do what she must do.

"The coast is clear. We can have the meeting now," the girl whispered at the mediums. Almost at once, a faint light began to come out of the twelve objects she held. The light seemed to be gathering energy since the faint glow was starting to become brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the small beams of light shot straight into her head, and the girl instataneously went to sleep.

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_This is a strange dream_, Jet thought as he saw the events that were unfurling from his sleep. He saw Filgaia from the point of view in outer space. The planet was round and brown with little spots of light green. A desert planet with little vegetation. To his great surprise, the planet began to tremble and there was a bloodcurdling scream. Jet was shocked. The planet was shrieking. The planet's screams persisted until, a few moments later, the noise stopped. Suddenly, the planet turned to dust. Soon there was nothing left. Just as that event was finished, the vision was replaced by a different event.

This time, there was a burning town. The town was large and had a castle in the background. The sky was red, and dark clouds spotted the threatening sky. People were screaming, and children cried for their mothers. There was a kid beside a burning building that was stroking the head of a dead woman; the child thought that the corpse he held would come back to life by stroking. Monsters were invading the town, devouring, tearing apart, and injuring the poor people. Corpses littered the town left to right, and the people that were still alive were screaming in agony. Pools of blood started to form where piles of bodies rested. To Jet's horror, some of the townsfolk helped the monsters kill the people. He nearly looked away from this horrible scene when he noticed that some people put up a fight.

A small group were fighting the monsters and demons. They were using what seemed like magic, and out of all of the people, only one used an ARM. The young warrior was firing effectively with a shotgun ARM, killing many monsters before they harmed the townsfolk the young man tried to defend. The warrior had blue hair, blue jeans, a white shirt, and a brown vest. He was an adult. The others who were putting up a good fight with magic were males, using crest sorcery to protect the women and children. Some of the women had babies in their tight grasp, and the children kept close with the women, fear in their innocent eyes.

The group was making its way slowly to the exit of the town, which was the entrance. The fighters were making a beeline towards the exit, and they are reaching their goal. Hope was showing on the survivors' faces. A few monsters later, they were running out of the town. The exit was soon far behind them, and triumph was seen on the people's faces. The vision ended, to Jet's relief. He didn't think he could have taken more of the carnage of the town.

The last vision was odd; he was in a field of flowers, lush green grass growing as far as the eye could see. The sky was blue and calm, little fluffy white clouds scattered in the blue canvas.The area looked very similar to the vision of Filgaia's past splendor Jet had in Yggdrasil during his journey with his friends. Jet looked everywhere in front of him, looking for anything significant in this vision. Nothing, just the lush beauty of plantlife before him. Giving an irritated sigh, he turned around, and to his surprise, there was a figure in the distance, not too far away from where the silver-haired drifter was. A person seemed to be praying; the position the figure was in suggested that he or she was kneeling. Jet, with a sudden curiosity, began to walk towards the person. The figure was getting closer and closer as Jet walked towards the person. His eyes began to detect some features of the person. The person wore a dress, had long hair, and was undeniably female. Strange, Jet thought, the person's face was blurred out. He still kept walking towards the person. _Just a few more_ _steps_, Jet thought. Just before he was two steps close to the figure he felt his body being pulled away from the vision. Darkness obscured his vision and as soon as that "trip" was over, Jet was knocked into consciousness. He woke up.

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Virginia woke up within her mind to have her meeting with the Guardians. The place she was in was very dark, and a luminous purple fog surrounded the area. This was the dream realm, the only place where a human can have direct contact with the Guardians of Filgaia.

She sat, waiting for the Guardians to come. Seconds later, one by one, they came. The Guardians made a circle around her, and they sat; obviously this meeting will be very important.

"Hello, Shaman Virginia." said all the Guardians at the same time. Virginia stood up, and bowed.

"Hello, Guardians." she said out loud. After that, she sat down.

There was silence. Virginia couldn't help notice that the Guardians seemed a little...discomforted, nervous. Curiosity got the best of her.

"What's wrong?" Virginia asked. "You all seem...tense." At that moment, the Guardians began to fidget slighly.

"There is a problem we must face," said Zephyr, the Guardian of hope. "The magnitude of this situation is very grave."

"It concerns Filgaia." said Raftina, Guardian of love.

"Really? Then tell me what's going on so I can deal with it!" declared Virginia in a determined voice. She looked at the Guardians for a reply.

"See here, the thing is that...Filgaia is dying." said Schurdark sadly. Upon hearing this, Virginia fell face-first(anime style!) to the floor.

"That's it?" Virginia said in a annoyed voice. "I already knew that."

"Wait, you didn't let me finish." Schurdark replied. "Filgaia is dying, we all know that. The thing is...our Mother Planet is losing its life energy much faster than expected."

"Wait, what does that mean? Is something taking away Filgaia's energy or what?" the impatient girl asked.

"No, nothing is threatening the planet," answered Luceid. "There is no enemy forces to take care of, so do not worry, Miss Virginia."

Now the Drifter girl was very confused. Filgaia is in danger but not from an enemy threat. And the Guardians seemed a bit calm about everything. Well, except for their fidgets. Seeing the look of annoyance on Virginia's face, Raftina said, "Virginia, please be patient with us. This problem has a solution, but..." the Guardian, to Virginia's big surprise, took a deep breath. "The solution means we have to give up something in return for the planet's safety." The Guardian paused to see if Virginia had something to say. A moment's silence.

"Please, continue," the Drifter girl said. The Guardian nodded.

"This is the problem. Remember Beatrice? She said that she needed people's memories in order to supply energy to the Yggdrasil system and create a new Filgaia. You defeated her, but resulted in Filgaia dissappearing. Using the generator and the people's memories, you were able to bring back Filgaia, correct?"

"Yes," Virginia said, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything," Raftina answered. "You see, the memories of everyone in Filgaia brought it back, but the problem is...everyone's memories only depicted a dying, weak Filgaia. The humans only thought of a fragile Filgaia that was near to death. As a result, the Yggdrasil generator resurrected Filgaia, but the planet that was reborn wasn't as strong as it was originally. The Filgaia that the people perceived was born."

"This means," Justine interrupted, "that the planet is very weak, and its death is approaching soon."

The Drifter girl gave a tiny gasp. "H-how soon?" she whispered.

"In around two weeks," answered Justine.

"W-what..?" whispered Virginia. This piece of information sunk in her mind, the idea of the planet's doom leering so close, and she suddenly felt a bit light-headed. "All we have for the Children of Filgaia to live is...two weeks?" she said in a faint voice. The Guardians bowed their head. That small action answered her question: yes.

Silence. That small silence that seemed to magnify every little sound ten-fold: the ruffling feathers of Raftina's wings, the crackling fire of Moor Gault's wings. _Why...why must Filgaia die so soon..._

"Do not worry," said Raftina. "There is a solution, but..." the Guardian's head bowed.

"It involves sacrifice," said Luceid. "We need to sacrifice something powerful to replenish Filgaia's energy. And we already found that energy source."

"Really!" Virginia exclaimed happily. "Then, can you tell me what this energy source is? If it's in Filgaia, I'll do my best to obtain it." The Drifter girl waited for a reply. That's when she noticed the pained look on the Guardian's faces.

"What is it?" Virginia asked.

"The energy source...is closer than you think." saild Luceid slowly. The Guardian looked at Raftina. "Please sister, I really don't want to go through with this!"

"But we must!" said Raftina with a slight tone of anger in her voice, turning to face her sister. "It's the only way!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Virginia said. A thought popped into her head. "Wait...Do you Guardians have to sacrifice yourselves!"

Raftina turned towards Virginia. "That is foolish! Filgaia needs us Guardians to govern the elements and feelings on it. One Guardian missing can cause great havoc on our Mother Planet! A Guardian sacrifice is out of the question."

"S-sorry." Virginia said sheepishly. "Wait, you haven't told me what or where the energy source is."

"Well, if we must..." sighed Luceid in a sad and slighly defeated tone. "The energy source is right in front of us. This source of energy is powerful enough to restore Figaia to its former glory."

Virginia grew confused. _Right in front of them..? _She looked around her. Nothing, except the Guardians, was there. The answer clicked into place. Virginia began to hyper-ventilate. _N-no...it can't be..._

"Me?" Virginia asked softly. Fear seemed to seep right into her body, clutching at her very heart. _This can't be...why me?_

"Yes, Virginia," Raftina said with a slight tone of sadness in her voice. "You are to be our sacrifice."

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**Author's** **Note**: Okay, I know this was probably a boring chapter, but I promise that it will get better! I'm a bit stressed out, but I promise to try and deliver a good story. Please review!


	2. Commitment

**Author's note:** This is the second chapter of my first fic, and I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer**:I don't own Wild Arms 3. Nuff said.

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Shock coursed through her body. The answer that Raftina told the startled girl took its toll on her feelings. Tears began to stream down her face; the tears were not for her impending death, but for what she was going to miss out on._ Clive, Gallows...Jet..._

Raftina put a comforting arm around Virginia, and she tried to console her. "Don't cry. I know this task will be very difficult for you to perform, but think about it. You will keep everyone in Filgaia alive! And there is a huge chance you will restore our Mother Planet to her former glory!"

More tears spilled from the Shaman's eyes. "I(sob)...I know that's a good thing(sob)...but(sniffle)...I'm going to miss everyone!" Virginia turned to Raftina. "Explain. Why me?"

Raftina let go of her Virginia and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I will explain everything just as soon as you stop crying, okay?"

Virginia tried to quiet her sobs by shutting her eyes tight and wiping the rest of her tears by lightly rubbing her eyes. She soon calmed down. Raftina then began her explanation.

"There is a simple reason why you are the chosen sacrifice," Raftina said. "You are a Shaman."

"I know I am a Shaman, but how can this save the planet?"

"Let me explain. The planet itself kept us Guardians from knowing its imminent death. Filgaia also didn't let the humans know what was coming. Our Mother Planet kept the secret of its death so she wouldn't cause a panic. As our mother, she didn't want her children to be frightened, and so acted as though everything was allright. Us Guardians noticed something was up, and it took a great deal of persuading to make Filgaia finally tell us her secret. We were shocked by the news. Of course, we Guardians quickly tried to come up with a plan to save our Mother Planet, but we didn't have an answer yet. All we knew what we had to do is that we needed to procure a vast energy source to replenish the planet. Of course, we wanted to use the Teardrop, but that energy alone will not be enough to properly restore our planet's energy. We kept thinking for many months. Time was running out on us. We were searching through our vast knowledge of history to find a powerful item. And that's when it hit us. As we were searching through the history of Shamans with the help of our planet's memories, we found out that the race of the Shamans started when Filgaia found devoted people taking care of her. She replaced the human blood of her devoted followers with her own blood and power. Thus the age of Shamans began."

"The Shamans, as you know, were able to communicate with the Guardians and the planet itself, and they are able to use magic by Crest sorcery." said Justine."All of this was possible because of Filgaia's power and lifeblood coursing through their veins. You, Virginia, have that lifeblood of the past Filgaia in your blood. This means that you have the glory and strength of the Filgaia of old in your blood. This means that you are a worthy sacrifice for Filgaia, able to give back the strength it had once before."

"And if you sacrificed yourself by using the Teardrop to magnify your strength, surely you will replenish our Mother Planet's energy greatly!" exclaimed Luceid.

"But...I am still going to miss everyone!" Virginia wailed pitifully. "The news is good and all, but it doesn't change the fact that I won't be in this world anymore." To her surprise, there was no tears. Sadness didn't claim her. Instead, some courage began to slip into her face. "But I must do it...for Filgaia," she said. "For everyone.."

Determination shone on the Drifter girl's face as she faced the Guardians. "I will do it," Virginia said in a calm voice. "Just tell me what to do."

Justine stepped forward and said, "You must go to the Sacrificial Altar right now."

Virginia became a bit dazed. "You mean...right now!"

Raftina blinked. "Of course, silly girl. Filgaia's death is fast approaching!"

Virginia gave the timing of the sacrifice some thought._ Filgaia will die in around two weeks, so...maybe I can persuade the Guardians to let me spend some time with my family and friends..._

"Guardians, is it possilble for me to postpone the sacrifice until later?" Virginia asked. Seeing the somewhat shocked look on the Guardian's faces she added, "I won't postpone it until Filgaia's death is a few seconds away! I want to spend some time with everyone before I'm gone."

The Guardians began to consider it. "Well, you have helped us out on a lot while you were on your journey..."

"Please?" Virginia pleaded. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?" A look of hope and pleading was on her face; she desperately wanted some quality time with everyone important in Filgaia. _Please Guardians...please grant me this wish..._

"You really want this time, do you?" Raftina concluded, seeing the look of hope on Virginia's face. Virginia gave an affirmative nod. Raftina gave a small sigh. "Of course you can spend the remaining time with your family. You truly deserve it. This will be the last visit you will ever have with everyone in the realm of the living so make sure you spend a good time while you're there, okay?"

Virginia became very happy with Raftina's reply. She couldn't help but to scream for joy."WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" With her usual oh-so-happy attitude, she kept shouting, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THAAAAAAAAANK YOU!"

The Guardians laughed. "Okay, calm down, Virginia." Luceid said in an amused tone while watching the Drifter girl jump for joy. "You will have the two weeks to stay with your friends, but remember this: there is no backing down from this mission. Do not let the memories of your loved ones get in the way of your choice of backing away from the sacrifice."

Virginia nodded and stopped jumping. "I know...I 'm going to miss everyone..." Her face began to lose some of its cheerfulness, but soon after that tiny change her face brightened up. "But I will keep everyone alive! I will keep everyone's hopes and dreams from disappearing. People will be glad about me saving the world!"

Shuffle. Fidget. Some faces with discomfort. "What's the problem?" Again the Guardians didn't answer. Then Zephyr walked (okay, glided) in front of Virginia.

"It's time for you to wake up," Zephyr stated. A small glow began to radiate from Virginia's body. "This meeting is adjourned."

The Guardians began to disappear to return to their mediums. And soon after that, Virginia felt herself drift away, slowly coming back into consciousness...

Virginia woke up.

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"Strange dream..." Jet whispered, stretching his well-defined muscles to shake off sleep. It was morning. An orange-pink light began to rise on the horizon, casting a somewhat fuzzy light on the camp that the gang was currently sleeping on. Jet gave off a loud yawn, and looked over to his companions. There was Gallows, sleeping and lightly snoring, head resting on a rock. Then there is Clive, chest rising and contrating peacefully, not disturbed by the faint light coming form the morning sun. Jet looked to find his female companion, wanting to see her before she woke up._ At least she isn't loud when she goes to sleep, _Jet mused. _Also, she looks beautiful when asleep... Whoa, hey Jet, snap out of it! You DO NOT like the chatterbox! You have NO feelings for that loud, annoying, bossy, pretty chatterbox..._

Jet shook his head. He recently found out about the strange feelings he has when he talks to her, stands next to her, thinks about her...even though he didn't say anything to his comrades. He didn't know what these feelings were caused by, but he had a hard time concealing them from everyone, especially Gallows._Stupid oaf can't keep to his own business, _Jet thought angrily. He still kept searching for that certain someone, but didn't find her.

"Virginia?" Jet called out softly, hoping that the Drifter girl will respond. That's when Jet realized that _he_ was calling out to _her_. This alone was so unJet.

He stood up, walking around the vicinity of the camp to see where Virginia has gone off to. No sign of the girl at all. Concern began to take over Jet's feelings, and he found out that Virginia wasn't with them. Quickly he went over to Clive and Gallows, trying to rouse them from their nap by shaking them...roughly.

Clive's eyelids began to open, and a yawn escaped from his lips. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked in a slurred voice, the sleep in his eyes present.

Gallows began to wake up, his body still in sleep-mode. "Whazzamatter?" he managed to ask before he also let out a huge yawn. Seeing that Jet was the one that woke him up got him riled up already. "Okay, sulky punk, why are you disturbing my sleep, huh?" Gallows sneered.

"I want to know, too." Clive asked. The two men were waiting for an answer from the silver-haired Drifter.

"In case you haven't noticed," Jet said in his usual cold voice, "our leader's missing."

These words made Clive and Gallows look for Virginia around their camp. No sign of her whatsoever.

"Where is she?" Gallows asked, a worried look appearing on his face. Gallows stood up and began to search around the perimeter of the camp to find the leader.

"That's why I woke you up for," Jet replied coldly. "To search for her, you lazy oaf."

"Hey..." Gallows growled angrily before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Clive did that to restrain his friend. "Gallows, this is not the time to fight." the sniper stated. "We have to look for our leader. She can't be far from us, knowing her."

"Okay," Gallows grumbled, and he began to leave the vicinity of the camp until he noticed a silhouette approaching their location. Gallows immediately turned to his teammates. "Someone's coming," Gallows whispered. Jet and Clive turned towards the direction Gallows turned to look at, and indeed they saw someone coming their way.

Clive immediately aimed his ARM towards the person; his gun has a scope to see enemies from afar much more clearly. A smile appeared on his face, and he turned towards his comrades. "It's Virginia." he said.

Relief was apparent on Gallows' face when he heard the news; Gallows truly cared for Virginia. Jet, on the other hand, merely shrugged, hiding his feeling of relief by pushing it to the back of his mind.

Seconds later, Virginia appeared, looking a bit tired and sleepy. Jet thought that she looked a bit surprised when she saw her comrades awake.

"Good morning!" Gallows said heartily, walking towards Virginia to give her a hug.

"Good morning," Clive said, also walking towards the lady. "You gave us quite a scare while you were missing."

As usual, Jet said nothing.

"Good morning!" Virginia said happily, all sleepiness vanishing right away. She gave Gallows a hug, and gave a hug to Clive. To Jet's surprise, Virginia gave him a hug too.

"W-why are you hugging me?" Jet stuttered, a blush appearing on his face. Virginia let go of him and looked a bit confused.

"You don't like hugs?" the Drifter girl asked. Jet immediately noticed that her face was a bit red too. He ignored this observation, intent to answer her question.

"I _despise_ hugs," Jet said to Virginia, "and what's with the happy attitude today? In fact, why weren't you with us in the morning?" Another astute observation that Jet made revealed Virginia had flinched a bit when he asked that question.

"Ummm...I wasn't with you guys because..." A moment's pause.

"Spit it out already!" Jet said in an annoyed tone.

"Okay, I left because Gallows passed gas like a hurricane. Satisfied?" Virginia answered. Gallows immediately went red and began to bicker.

"Hey, I did not fart last night!" Gallows said in an indignant tone. Virginia gave an apologizing look towards Gallows. Jet began to sneer.

"So, the big oaf let out wind like crazy, right?" Jet said in an evilish amused tone. "In that case this answers my question, Chatterbox."

Jet almost let out a chuckle when he saw Gallows' face turn into a deep shade of red. "I swear you guys, I did NOT fart at all." Gallows turned to Jet. "I bet it was the sulky punk that let loose yesterday. I mean, we all ate his cooking, right?"

Virginia giggled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I know what you mean, Gallows." Both the big Baskar and the young lady began to laugh like crazy.

Immediate fight.

"What the hell does that mean!" snarled Jet, his look of loathing aimed at the two laughing Drifters. Gallows settled down a bit, still chuckling, and replied, "Your cooking sucks. It sucks_ ass_."

"That's not true, Gallows," Virginia said. Jet felt another blush coming on his face when he saw Virginia defending him. "But I agree. Jet, your cooking is...umm..."

"Mediocre," answered Clive. The blush deepened a bit, but it was from anger.

"Clive, you're agreeing with them?" he muttered, his fists clenching tight. "Allright, my cooking sucks, and what? Remember Gallows' 'Mystery Stew'?"

Both Virginia and Gallows tried to hold in their laughter as they remembered the result of the "stew"...

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_Flashback_

_"Wow, Gallows, you overdid yourself." Virginia stated as she saw the thick stew being tipped on her bowl. It looked thick and hearty, and its aroma was pleasant. Even Jet looked slightly impressed by the looks of Gallows' cooking. Clive passed out the spoons and napkins in case someone spilled something. The gang settled down, and Clive began to eat first._

_"My, this soup is delicious, Gallows." Clive said in an impressed tone. Virginia and Jet thought that the soup was safe to eat until..._

_"Oh, my stomach!" groaned Clive. He was very pale, and a thin sheen of sweat coated his face._

_"Jet, Gallows, we must do something!" Virginia exclaimed, rushing to get a clean bowl of cool water and a clean cloth to wipe Clive's face. Jet merely shrugged, saying 'Whatever', and Gallows just stood there dumbly, shocked by what his cooking did to the poor sniper. Seeing that the two men didn't do anything to help out Viginia, she grew frustrated, and she continually wiped Clive's face with the wet cloth._

_"Clive, are you all right?" Virginia asked. She noticed that her friend's face looked like he was struggling to hold something. "Are you okay?"_

_A single noise answered Virginia's question about the nature of Clive's face, what Gallows' cooking did to his fellow comrade, and resulted in a smirk from the punk's face._

_**Ptffffffffff(splurt)ptffffffffffff...BAROOM!**_

_**"**Damn, Clive, that was some wind..." Jet sneered._

_The sniper's face went red and had to face ridicule from his friends..._

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The memory of the event made Virginia and Gallows laugh again, tears forming in their eyes as they struggled to keep their insides from exploding.

"All right, my cooking sucks, but you gotta admit, the result was funny." Gallows said. Virginia's laughter began to subside, but her tone became a bit serious.

"Guys, we need to leave now. The Arkists are still out to get us, so we must leave right away." The gang nodded in agreement, and immediately mounted their horses.

Jet gave a sigh as he felt his blush-ridden face. _Why does this keep happening? _Jet wondered. He looked towards Virginia, and he couldn't help but notice that she had slight pained look on her face. He quickly rode towards her, and asked, "Something bothering you?"

Virginia looked at Jet and hesitated a bit until she answered,"Uh, nothing's wrong. Really." And with that she left Jet, spurring her horse to run ahead of everyone.

"Come on, guys, let's go." she urged her teammates, and with that, the team began to ride forward.

_I think she's hiding something, _Jet concluded. _I hope its not too important._

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Virginia began to think about her imminent death, and about the pain that she would cause when she leaves this earth. _I have to say goodbye...by acting like nothing is happening at all._

With these thoughts plaguing her mind she rode on. The threat of Arkists washed away her previous thoughts, and she immediately made plans for today.

_I'll miss you...I'll miss you all very much..._

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**Author's Note: **I'm a sucker for long chappies, so if the length troubles you, let me know. Please review. PLEASE! Ahem. Seriously, I want some reviews, I need comments on what to do to please you all. Also, check out my sister's (Euphoria6A) fics. THEY ROCK! You won't be dissappointed.

Sephiroth: Okay, Lady Aeris1997, that was one hell of a long chappie. Now to kill you.

LadyAeris1997: Eep! Oh! (turns to readers) Hope you liked this chappie, and send comments! (starts to run from Sephiroth) AHHHHHHHHHH!

Sephiroth: You can't run from the One-Winged Angel, wench!

Cloud: STAY AWAY FROM MY GIRL, YOU ONE-WINGED FREAK! (stabs Sephiroth)

Sephiroth: NOOOOOOOOO(dies)

LadyAeris1997: My hero!

(starts heated make-out session with Cloud. turns to readers.)

LadyAeris1997: Back off! He's mine!

(goes with Cloud on a date)


	3. Suspicion

**Author's Note:** Hi, there, this is my third chapter of my first fic! Yay for me! Hope you like it, and review please! PLEAAAAASE! (ahem) On with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wild Arms 3. If I did, Jet and Virginia would have hooked up at the middle or end of the game. Nuff said.

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The wind whipped on the Shaman's face. Simply riding her milky-white mare wiped all thought. Her worries about not living were gone from her head. She heard her teammates behind her, the steady clip-clops of the horses right behind her. Suddenly her senses told her someone was watching her. She turned around, and what she saw surprised her. Jet was looking at her! He stared at her with an intense look, and when Virginia made eye contact with him, he blushed and looked at his stallion's mane. The girl also noticed that his stallion was riding very closely with her mare. The horses were but three feet apart. Virginia turned around and began to think.

_What's up with that guy?_ Virginia thought._ He's riding so close to me! I noticed he does that lately. He seems so...protective of me...maybe it's nothing. He's just looking after his comrades, _Virginia assured herself.

"Ginny, look out!" yelled Gallows. Virginia quickly looked around for the threat. It was three Orcs, their grunting and snorting stating their presence. The monsters were running alongside the Drifters.

"We need to take them out." shouted Clive, already holstering his Gungnir. The other three took out their weapons too.

Virginia shot the Orc closest to her, the bullet lodging itself onto the Orc's left arm. The Orc squealed in pain, but it retaliated by running towards Virginia and giving a well-placed punch on her stomach. Virginia doubled forward from the pain, and she suddenly found it hard to breathe._ That smarts_, Virginia thought. For some reason, she felt her strength returning. Now able to rise properly, her instincts told her to turn around. She saw Jet using a Heal Berry, its remains on Jet's hand as he used it on Virginia.

"Thanks!" Virginia shouted to Jet. As usual, no response. Gallows casted Pressure on the Orc that Virginia wounded, instantly killing it, and Clive used Lock-On on the second Orc, ending its life. The Orc went for Virginia, trying to hurt her with a hit. Virginia saw the Orc putting up a burst of speed to catch up to her. She tensed herself, waiting for the blow to come. Nothing happened. The Orc let out its death scream as she heard a machine gun spraying its bullets and making contact with flesh. Again, she turned around, and saw Jet with a green glow on him as he focused his attack on the enemy. Jet used his Accelerator to defend Virginia.

The gang slowed down their horses. The horses were tired from running, and sweat stained their bodies.

"Oh, my." Virginia cooed to her horse. "Tired?" The horse let out a tiny whinny and nuzzled the Shaman's face. Virginia reached for her pack and searched for a carrot to give to her trusty steed. "Aha!" she exclaimed softly, and she walked towards her horse, giving it the carrot. The horse took the food gratefully, and munched on it with relish. After giving her mare the carrot, she noticed something nagging her in the back of her mind. Jet saved her._ I owe him a thank you._

As usual, Jet was by himself, sitting far away from company._ I swear, that guy can be a downer sometimes,_ Virginia mused._ Doesn't he realize that we are his friends?_

Virginia walked over to where he sat, and she knew that Jet sensed her coming; he turned his back towards her, even thogh he wasn't facing her directly. She sat next to him but kept her distance so he wouldn't feel that someone is intruding his personal space.

"Hey, Jet? Thank you for saving me." Virginia said. No response. "Did you hear me?" Virginia asked.

"I heard you," Jet muttered, and he turned to look at the Drifter girl. "Now buzz off."

"Wha-?" Virginia gasped. She glared at Jet, but he didn't seem afraid of her. "What was that all about! I wanted to say thank you, and you act mean!"

Jet scoffed. "Took you long to notice how I behave, Chatterbox?" the silver-haired man asked coldly.

Virginia seemed taken back from his reply. "I thought...I thought that a year with us might have changed you..." Virginia whispered. Disappointment claimed her, and she looked down at the floor. "I guess I was wrong." From the corner of her eye, she saw Jet flinch a bit, and she noticed that his facial features softened a bit._ Does he feel guilty? _

"I...I guess I should be the one saying sorry." muttered Jet, also looking down at the floor. She looked at him, surprised that Jet was acting so sensitive. "But I'm not _that_ soft to be saying that!" Jet hissed loudly, causing her eyes to widen with surprise. Virginia giggled from the outburst._ Jet will always be Jet,_ Virginia thought gleefully.

"Understood." Virginia replied, and she left her sitting spot to join the others.

"While you two lovebirds were chatting," a mischievous voice said suddenly. "we already prepared breakfast, since we didn't have any today."

Gallows was looking at Virginia with an eyebrow raised and giving her a funky look(The look that says "I know what you're up to." That look.) Virginia immediately felt a blush coming on her face, and she felt 100 degrees hotter.

"Lovebirds?" Virginia exclaimed, looking at Gallows with an angry look. "Me and Jet are _not _lovebirds, do you hear me, Gallows!"

Gallows began to laugh, and Clive soon appeared. "What is going on?" Clive asked. Gallows turned to Clive and gave a sly smile. "I think our leader has a crush on the sulky punk!"

"Gallows! Say that one more time and I swear..." Virginia growled, and her fists tightened. Gallows grabbed her and gave her a noogie. "Admit it, you like him." Gallows said, rubbing her head vigorously.

"No, I don't like him!" Virginia snarled fiercely, and broke free from the headlock by struggling fiercely against the Baskar's strong grip. After breaking free from the noogie, she stumbled a bit, and then she righted herself. Clive chuckled. He walked towards Virginia and whispered in her ear, "It's pretty obvious that you have taken a liking to Jet." Clive then walked towards the breakfast pot and started to serve food in the plates from the gear pack. Upon hearing that piece of information, the blush she already had deepened. Muttering threats under her breath, she walked towards Clive, ready to eat breakfast.

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Jet sat there, brooding as usual and being the sulky punk the team has come to know. He heard everything that Virginia and Gallows were arguing about, and he felt a slight blush coming onto his face. Lately Gallows accused Virginia of having the hots for him. A warm, fuzzy feeling arose from him everytime Gallows made fun of Virginia liking the "sulky punk". After a year of traveling with the gang and with all of the things that happened between them, Jet began to realize his feelings for the "Chatterbox". He noticed these foreign feelings appeared when he met Virginia, and no other girl made him feel these foreign feelings. The times when Gallows thinks that Virginia has a crush on him makes him feel hopeful that one day, they would be together. Jet wished that the leader does have feelings for him. But, being the person he is, he kept rejecting Virginia's affection towards him to maintain his pride and tough-guy image.

"Why am I feeling this way towards the chatterbox?" Jet muttered to himself. "There are many women in Filgaia and I fell for a loudmouthed chatterbox." The strange feelings started to arise again, and another slight blush appeared on his face. He already knew the reason why he felt this way about her: she was kind, gentle, caring, had an unbreakable will, determined, strong, and lastly, but not least, breath-takingly beautiful. He always thought of her as a fallen angel from Heaven, being how she was. Jet shook his head, and upon hearing his stomach growl, headed towards the others to eat.

The food, which consisted of crushed Heal Berries mixed with a few eggs, was delicious. Jet was a bit impressed with the food Clive and Gallows came up with. Usually, the food was horrible and ended with a severe case of wind, diahrrhea, or a painful stomach. Today, that seemed that it would not happen with this food. Jet then payed attention to the conversation that the others had.

"Something strange is happening," Clive remarked to the gang. "Filgaia seems that it is recovering after that incident over a year ago, but as we have traveled in Lombardia, I noticed that some places are lush with forests and grassland, while other locations are pure desert. I thought that the planet would have recovered everywhere and not in some locations."

"That's pretty weird," Gallows agreed. "I would have thought that Filgaia's recovery means that all of the locations would start healing slowly." Gallows turned to Jet. "Thoughts, punk?"

Jet snarled and stared daggers at the big Baskar. "What the hell do I care about the planet!" Jet growled. "If it's recovering, fine! We did our part, so let the planet do what it needs to do!" Jet felt furious that the Baskar called him a punk; the label "punk" made Jet sound like a child, and he didn't like that. Clive was interested on what Jet said.

"It seems Jet has a point. The planet knows what it has to do to heal itself, so we should let it do what it has to do." Clive stated. "But we must also protect the planet at all costs since it must be very vulnerable. Leader?" Clive asked, turning to Virginia to listen to her opinion. Jet looked at her, and he saw that she was deep in thought. He noticed that she had the same face that she had when he asked her if something bothered her.

"Virginia?" Clive asked again. She snapped her downwards gaze towards Clive and blurted out, "I agree what Jet said!" The three men looked at each other; the girl would always pay attention to what the others had to say and now she seemed a bit distracted.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Gallows asked, concern in his voice. He always cared for his "little sister" and sometimes showed more concern to her than anyone else. Virginia turned towards Gallows and gave him a cheerful smile. "Nothing's wrong!" Virginia replied gleefully, and she proceeded to eat her untouched food.

"If I'm not mistaken, you looked like if something was bothering you when we were talking about Filgaia's recovery." Clive stated. Jet silently agreed with Clive. Jet saw another cloud of pain appear on her facial features and she shook her head. "Serious, guys, nothing is bothering me. Honest."

_She's lying, I can tell. She seems nervous about something._ Jet spoke. "I think you are hiding something from us. You're acting very funny if you ask me." The two men looked at each other and then to the young lady.

"Is this true?" Clive said to Virginia. "If something is wrong, please tell us."

Virginia took a deep breath and she said, "Nothing is wrong. Thank you for your concern, but there is absolutely nothing that is out of the ordinary."

Jet again noticed that the young lady was lying. She started to fidget a little, and she didn't make eye contact with anyone when she answered Clive's question. _It must be something big if it's getting her nervous,_ Jet concluded. Virginia then began to go to leader mode.

"We need to go to Baskar Village. We need to gather information about Filgaia's state." Virginia said. "We need to have a move on. We have stayed in this place too long." She immediately went towards her horse and mounted it. Gallows followed suit, and Clive packed all of their stuff and he too climbed on his horse.

"You're hiding something," Jet whispered quietly to himself while mounting his steed. "I'll find out." With that said to himself, he followed where the others were riding, and rode as close to Virginia as possible to keep her within eyesight to guard her.

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_Jet's onto something. I need to improve on acting like nothing's wrong, that's for sure. Hopefully, the guys won't find out anything about my mission, or..._Virginia's thoughts trailed off, thinking about the consequences of her friends finding out about what she had to do. Maybe they'll stop her, saying that her life is too precious. Maybe others will find out about her being a Shaman because her friends revealed that in public, and she would become a guinea pig for scientists to prod and poke. Many things can result from this piece of information, and when the young Shaman thought about the consequences, fear would take over.

_I need to find a way to do this job easier. Baskar village just might provide me with the answer...if no one finds out that I'm a Shaman and tries to hunt me down..._

_Maybe..._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Author's Note:** Damn it, this chapter seems way too boring! I'm sorry, but the heat has been getting to me and started to dry up my creative juices. The next chapter will be better, I PROMISE. Please review!

**Sephiroth:** You seem to make a lot of promises, LadyAeris...

**LadyAeris1997:** So? You know I always keep my word.

**Cloud:** I always keep my promise to bring her back to life, and she cheated death around, like, 20 times!

**LadyAeris1997: **Yup, that's true. And I have too many promises to keep up with, so don't kill me today, pleeeeeeeease?(does cute puppy-dog face)

**Sephiroth:** That face...it's so...HORRIBLE!

**Cloud: **0.0

**LadyAeris1997:** 0.0

**Sephiroth**: NOW YOU MUST DIE!( stabs us)

**Cloud and** **LadyAeris1997: **Dammit...(dies)

**Sephiroth:** (kicks our corpses) And stay dead!(starts listening to iPod)


	4. A Revelation and Conspiracy

**Author's Note:** Well, here it is...my fourth chapter! Hope you love it! Seriously, I hope you do...I started school. Drats! Anyways have fun! **AND I FRICKING LOVE APE ESCAPE! A DAMN BADASS GAME! **(the Ape Escape for the PS1...not the load of crap I saw spawned for the PS2). And sorry if the update took long, too much has happened! So I made the chapter extra long, just for forgiveness.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wild Arms. In fact, I don't own anything...Nuff said.

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The Maxwell gang was fast approaching the tranquil Baskar Village. The small town, huddled beneath the peaks of Mount Zenom, gave off a good, home-sweet-home vibe. The horses, though tired, still carried their riders willingly and ran at a fast pace. Virginia loved going to Baskar;the place was just so relaxing. She heard her comrades behind her, as usual. And, as usual, she heard the heavy breathing of a horse in close proximity to her mare._ Jet's protecting me again! I mean, it's nice of him and all, but why is he on to me like this! _Virginia ignored the steady clip-clopping of a certain stallion, the footstep's sound she has come to recognize. The town of Baskar was now a few yards away.

The team left their horses just outside the town and left them to their own devices. Grass was rather plentiful near the village, and the horses wouldn't need to move much to find some grub. Soon the gang walked towards the humble abode of Halle.

"Oh, my goodness...Virginia! Jet! Clive!" the old lady shouted with joy, and she proceeded to hug each of the people she has named. Gallows, of course, was frustrated.

"Hey, Granny, what about..?"

**WHACK!**

"What the hell was that for!" Gallows snarled, rubbing his injured forehead.

"Gallows, don't you know that guests should be welcomed first?" Halle asked angrily, holding the cane threatenlingly. Gallows just grumbled and looked at the cane with a cautious look. Halle turned her attention to the group of Drifters that were trying not to laugh at the scene that just happened. "Well, then, how is everything?"

"Everything's good!" Virginia exclaimed happily. Then her face began to have a downcast look. "Well, except for the Arkists chasing us..." Halle gave Virginia a sympathetic look.

"Well, don't worry about that, just relax here. The Arkists passed by here around a week ago asking about the whereabouts of my grandson." Halle then had a worried look. "But...the Arkists were talking about taking drastic measures for finding you. And from the looks of it...they're pretty serious."

"What?" Virginia squeaked in surprise. Gallows put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I assume that the Arkists will threaten us or put a loved one in danger." Clive concluded. Everyone turned to the sniper. Clive pushed the rim of his glasses, the weird habit of his, and began to explain what he meant. "We were doing a good job of hiding out if the Ark of Destiny didn't find us. With that said, and the sheer desperation of the Arkists trying to catch us, its only natural that they would want to take drastic measures to lure us out in the open."

"B-but...would the Arkists be willing to...threaten an innocent life?" Virginia whispered.

Jet gave a slight scoff, and shook his head. "Damn Arkists." he hissed. The group turned their heads to the punk, and all he did was turn his head away. Shaking their heads, the gang decided to think of a plan.

"Now that we know that the Arkists are gonna take drastic measures, we must keep ourselves away from civilization as often as possible. We must go to towns only if it's absolutely necessary." stated Clive. Virginia heaved a sigh.

Silence. Sheer silcence.

"Hello everyone!" shouted a voice. It was an ecstatic Shane. "Long time no see!" His long legs were making short work of the distance between his friends,and his face seemed to be happy. Almost jovial. He broke into a steady jog and reached Virginia and friends.

"Hey, Shane!" Virginia squealed as she gave the young Baskar a hug. "Nice to see you!" She separated from their embrace and then gave him a questioning look. "Why are you so happy?"

Shane flinched a bit and looked momentarily flustered. "Am I not supposed to be happy to see you?" Shane asked slowly.

"Oh! I didn't mean it that way!" Virginia replied quickly. "It's just that...you seem very happy to see us. And we visited you a few months ago with a promise of visiting you."

"Well, with the things that were happening, it's only natural for me feeling glad to see you." Shane answered back. A bright smile formed on his face as he took in the sight of his comrades.

"Halle, Shane, there is a question I must ask." Clive stated promptly. "Have you noticed anything strange happening in Filgaia?"

Halle looked taken aback from this question. "Actually...first of all, I think you must be hungry. Let's go in and have a bite to eat. We'll talk about such matters later."

"About time." Jet smirked, and he walked towards the Carradine hut not caring about the others following him.

"Jet!" Virginia scolded, and she marched straight towards the punk. Soon after, everyone followed suit.

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_...Am I doing the right thing?_

_Maybe this isn't such a good idea...It could ..._

_It could make everyone lose their trust on me..._

_...and result in death, too..._

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"Can you please wait a while? The food will be ready in a moment." Halle said while heading towards the kitchen.

The Carradine hut was a snug little place with a cozy fire located in the living room. The damp scent of earth filled the group's nostrils as they trudged through the living room. The thick scent of cooking meat filled the air, making everyone's mouth water considerably.

"Wow, smells great." Clive commented as he settled down on the table. Jet just gave a small grumble and positioned himself along the wall, standing all by his lonesome. Virginia and Gallows sat on the table too.

"Shane, aren't you gonna sit down?" Virginia asked. She noticed the young Baskar looked like if he was in a trance. He snapped out of it and answered, "I am." He presently sat down on the comely table, and he began to go on a trance-like state again. Virginia frowned.

"You're wondering why Shane's like that, correct?" The voice of Halle came from the kitchen. The old woman was carrying a tray of food. "Oh my, can someone help me with this?"

"Come on, Granny, don't sweet talk us to do your bidding! You ain't weak!"

**THWACK!**

"See! How can you swing your cane and hold a pile of food at the same time!" Gallows shrieked as he rubbed his head anew.

"Gallows..." Halle growled warningly, holding her cane at the ready. Her face had a deadly glare, and it didn't change even as Shane and Clive picked the food and set it on the table.

"Grrrr..." Gallows then sat down on a chair and began to mumble softly, "Damn, the day when Granny stops hitting me is the day Ragu o Ragula comes outta hell with a Nidhogg riding it..."

"Okay, lets eat!" Halle announced.

The group began to eat some delicious food, courtesy of Baskar. Everything was nearly made of fruits and vegetables, and there was little meat in the meal, as usual. Virginia was enjoying the food, a little more than the others since the thought of her impending doom was hanging over her head. Jet just ate with no facial expressions to show if he enjoyed the food or not. Clive was eating with the manners of a king, eating all of his food in a ladylike way. Gallows just ate like the pig everyone knew he was.

"Okay, about Shane's trances. What's up with that?" Virginia presently asked halfway through the dinner. Halle wiped her mouth with a napkin and began to explain.

"Shane has the ability of dream sight. I know, Beatrice was the one feeding him with the prophetic visions, but he still has his power. Lately his ability was going haywire with what is about to happen in the near future, and by the way his powers are responding, the future is a big one."

"How big?" Clive asked.

"I saw a field of white flowers, and the petals were just...floating in the wind. The field was lush with grass and the sky was a perfect blue." Shane said. His forehead scrunched slightly. "I also saw something else. A maiden praying. I couldn't see who she is. Everytime I try to see her up close, the vision ends, almost as if my own powers don't let me see."

Jet, to everyone's surprise, snapped his head up and made a face. He looked surprised. "That's...like the dream I sometimes have. About the girl and the field of flowers." Everyone stared at him with surprise. Especially Virginia. Halle was especially interested.

"Shane's power of prophetic vision is the gift of the planet. Since Jet is connected to the planet, he must have some of the powers the planet has too. Dream sight must be one of them." Halle observed. Jet turned his attention to the old Baskar.

"Funny thing is, my dream has the same result as Shane's. I try to look at the girl, and my dream ends right away. It's been happening lately."

"Oh, about the planet itself." Halle interrupted suddenly. "Something strange is going on. I tried to listen to the Guardians about the state of the planet, but it appears as if something is blocking the voices. Maybe the Guardians have a secret to keep, or it's the planet itself that is blocking out the messages. From the way things are looking, the planet looks like it's recovering, but..."

"But what?" Virginia asked.

"The healing seems very...forced, and limited to some areas, according to some Drifters that pass by the village. Some places are healing at an accelerated pace while some other areas remain wasteland. It's troubling, almost as if the planet is trying too hard to heal..."

Virginia gulped. Halle was right on target about the state of the planet. Maybe she shouldn't have gone to Baskar...

"But what am I saying! Maybe that's the way the planet heals. And there is no forseeable problems, so I assume everything is fine."

Relief was evident in Virginia's face, and she quickly covered it up by shoving some more food in her mouth. _Wow, for a minute, I thought_ ...

"So the future involves lush scenery and a praying girl." Gallows summarized. He chuckled. "Hope she's hot! I want to see her, myself." With that statement, Virginia felt her stomach heave a bit and her legs grew weak. _What the...Darn, he means me! I'm the one praying, but he doesn't know. Ugh, Gallows, you make me sick...I do NOT want him checking me out...ugh..._

"Why the look of distaste, hon?" Halle asked sweetly, apparently noticing Virginia's grimace after Gallows' statement. Clive chuckled a bit and Gallows cracked a huge grin. Virginia flinched. Mischief time.

"Heh, I bet that she was thinking of the punk flirting with her. Maybe she was grossed out by that scene." Gallows said with a malicious grin plastered on his face. Immediate facefault.

"Gallows! How many times do I have to say that WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" Virginia screamed as her face turned to a dark shade of red. Jet immediately grabbed his Airget-lamh and hit Gallows with the butt of the weapon.

"Idiot!" Jet roared, and, throwing his weapon aside, began to fight Gallows in a good ol' fashioned brawlfest. All of this in a dinner table.

"What, I know you like her back!" Gallows choked out as Jet's hands began to sqeeze his throat firmly: not to kill, of course.

"Shut up!" Jet yelled. and he began to punch Gallows' gut. Clive quickly helped the big Baskar fend off the crazy punk and held Jet from behind, holding him by his arms.

"Admit it, Jet! You like our leader! Ginny, doncha like Jet back!" Gallows spoke loudly, the pain making his words slur a bit. Virginia gave a growl and made one of the most embarassing responces ever.

"Well...uhhh...I...may-..."

Everyone, especially Jet, froze from that responce. _Great..._

Virginia sweatdropped from her responce, and her already-red face got even redder. That answer alone was enough for the gang and Halle and Shane make their own references. She ran outside, and her embarassment helped her run faster. _Need to go somewhere alone...and fast!_ With that thought, Virginia headed towards the shrine in Baskar to calm herself down and hopefully thought that no one will follow her there.

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"Well...uhhh...I...may-..."

The responce made Jet freeze and made his face blush a bit. Clive let him go, and Gallows looked somewhat stunned from what he just heard. Halle and Shane were just smiling slightly, nearly laughing from the poor leader's reaction.

"Did you just hear what I heard?" Gallows said slowly, disbelief evident on his face. Jet was still frozen. The answer awoke a feeling of hope and something else he couldn't quite explain.

"Clive, where did she run off to?" Jet asked mechanically, his voice apparently not working well. Clive smiled and pointed towards the direction of the altar.

"Thanks," He muttered, and he ran to the location Virginia hid herself in. Villagers and houses passed by and he didn't pay attention; his instincts told him that Virginia was in the altar, and he focused on his destination as his legs made his trip faster. _Did she mean...?_

The altar located inside the cliff behind Baskar village was rather cold even though it was a warm day. Jet walked silently, all too aware that footsteps can be heard clearly in the cave. He slowly and carefully walked forwards to the front of the altar. He began to see a pink huddle near the edge of the murial. The svelte figure of Virginia, hidden by the thick folds of her pink dress, was curled into a ball in a fetal position. Jet made his way slowly to her, not wanting to make his presence known to her in a loud manner. She wasn't crying, to Jet's relief. She was just a curl of embarassment.

"Virginia?" Jet spoke softly. Her pretty head snapped up to the source of the sound, and she noticed who the visitor was. Her face grew red again and her position tightened.

"Jet..." she whispered. She then buried her face into her arms. Jet walked to her side and sat right next to her.

"Virginia...what did you mean with that answer?" He asked softly. Oh Guardians, he wanted to know what was going on in her mind!

"I...didn't mean anything, Jet. Please forget about that." Virginia replied, her answer muffled by her arms. Anger began to take form in Jet's face.

"Ginny, please tell me! Did the answer mean what I think it meant?" he asked in a slightly angry voice. Silence for a few moments.

"Jet, the answer...don't make too much of a fuss about it. It would save a lot of trouble for the both of us." the Drifter girl said. She tilted her head to the silver-haired Drifter, and a smile was on her face, no blush on her face. "If Gallows hears this conversation..."

The answer alone was enough for Jet. Gallows annoying him to no end was enough for him to heed Ginny's word. He gave a nod, satisfied with her answer of not making a big deal out of her stuttering comment because he knew deep in his heart that Ginny must at least like him. That little piece of knowledge was enough for him. He got up and began to make his way towards the exit of the altar. Much to his surprise, Ginny followed right behind.

"I gotta make some plans for tomorrow!" Virginia said hurriedly, and she ran to the Carradine house. Jet saw her figure almost disappear before heading into the building. A smile curled on his lips as he saw her energetic self giving commands to the two men in the house. Her voice can be loud when she is energized.

_So I guess she DOES like me a bit...and why does she want me to ignore what she said?_ He shrugged, and his smile deepened a bit. _This gives me more reason to protect her..._

_----------------------------------------------------------_

_Smart move, Ginny, you gave him ideas with what you said. The mission is gonna be a bit harder to achieve with Jet looking out for me like a bodyguard. Oh, man, I made things a bit tougher...I just realized that I fell for him. Oh, Guardians..._

_-----------------------------------------------------------_

_So he likes her...Perfect. A plan can go smoothly with this relevation._

_It's cruel, but..._

_If it means defending loved ones..._

_--------------------------------------------_

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long update, but there you have it! Please review!

**Me: **Damn, that took a long time...

**Cloud:** At least you finished.

**Sephiroth:** Can I kill you now?

**Me:** If you must...

**Sephiroth:** (smirks) Bye. (stabs me eith Masamune)

**Me:** I'll update soon...(dies)

**Cloud:** Bastard. (runs to save me)

**Sephiroth:** I'm glad you finally found that out.(hums "One-winged Angel")


	5. Talks and Feelings

**Author's Note: **If you have read my other fics, you know what I am gonna say. SORRY FOR THE LONG UPDATE!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wild Arms, blah blah blah...

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"Gallows, I need for you to gather some information of the movements of the Arkists." Virginia commanded, and all she received for an answer was Gallows' goofy grin. Exasparated, she turned to Clive. "Can you restock our supplies?" Clive just chuckled, and a huff escaped from Virginia's lips.

The gang, including Halle and Shane, acted very funny towards her after the "incident" that happened a few moments ago. A glimpse of the maiden's heart was revealed, and now it was all chuckles and a smile. Virginia wanted to melt right then and there, a huge pool of embarassment waiting to sink through the dirt floor of the Carradine house and not be seen anymore._ Please let my wish come true, PLEASE let my wish come true..._

Preparations took long, and to the girl's odd surprise, Jet didn't enter the building at all. Maybe he knew what was happening in the house and saved Virginia from more embarrassment. Jet was an excellent judge of character, even though he hid that skill behind his sailor talk and sour attitude. _I guess he knew about the way Gallows and Clive would act..._she thought, sitting down on one of the chairs of the kitchen table. A sigh, and she rubbed her temples. She was now completely alone in the house, everyone doing a chore to prepare them for the next destination undecided by the leader.

_Okay, it has been only one day, but now I'm starting to wish that the sacrifice will come sooner._ She looked out of the window and saw a reddish tinge on the features of the village. _Sunset...day number one is finished. _A tear crept from the corner of her blue eye. _Thirteen days to go... _

Virginia headed towards the top floor of the Carradine residence, and looked out of the window to enjoy a sunset. Strange, when she was a kid she enjoyed watching the sunset, yet she tired of it when she reached the age of ten. Now, she was enjoying a beauty she may never enjoy again.

_"Do not worry, shaman. Don't look at life like some fleeting thing. You have the power in you to extend that beauty for many generations. Don't despair."_

The voice of a female rang that statement in her mind, nad Virginia immediately knew who it was. The only medium that she held that would speak to her in more than one occation. Raftina.

"It's not that I see beauty as something that would disappear, but...I kinda fear the afterlife. The future of the planet. The way people would react with my death."

"_You're nineteen. You're young. The young need to move on, enjoy life. You are no exception, even with your duties and origins."_

_"_I wish I wasn't a Shaman. That way, someone else can bear the burden of rejuvinating the planet."

"_Yet you are a Shaman, and nothing can change that. Virginia?"_

_"_Hmmm?"

"_You like Adam Kadmon, don't you?"_

"First of all, his name is Jet. Secondly, I don't like him!"

"_Okay...you love Jet."_

"Raftina!"

_"Hee hee, it's amusing how you react when I mention any kind of feelings for the young man. After all, I am in charge of love, and I happened to sense some affection for him from you."_

_"_Raftina, but..!"

"_Let me just say this. Enjoy your time with him. Try to talk to the poor man, he needs someone to comfort him, even though he hides his need with an acid tongue. You only have thirteen days, and you want to make them the best in your whole life. Maybe Jet can help you in that department."_

Before Virginia could respond, the presence of Raftina in her head was gone. She was blushing, the short conversation deriving more embarassment than ever. She still stared out the window, a longing look on her beautiful face. The longing for life, a change of fate. Jet needed her help, so it seemed, but how many times did she offer him her comfort and companionship? More than ten times, that's for certain. She cared deeply for the young man, and she was willing to try again and again. Just as she thought of Jet's loneliness, a figure, small and dark, was making its way towards the Carradine residence. Virginia recognized the twin scarves of the small figure, and in a heartbeat, she knew that was Jet.

_Oh, no! Need to get out, fast!!_

_"What happened to your willingness to try to befriend Jet?"_

_Just...just stop giving me ideas! I don't want to make the mission harder than it is._

_"You fell for him, and you don't want to hurt him with your sudden appearance, correct?"_

_"Thought so."_

Virginia shook her head, and tried desperately to banish the thought of liking Jet. She wanted to hide. She didn't want for her friends to think about crazy ideas that involve Jet and a bedroom. She peeked out the window, and she saw that Jet wasn't there anymore. Heavy footsteps were heard out of her bedroom, and that could have been only one person. She opened the window, and the chilly wind blew into her face. Thankfully the roof was low, and she was able to cling onto the sturdy structure. Using her strength, she was able to move her body onto the rooftop. The hay and leaves made a comfortable cushion, and the roof was only slightly damp._ Thank the Guardians for a good hiding place..._

"This is actually pretty sad, considering you want to avoid me."

Virginia turned quickly, and she saw Jet already on the roof, a smirk on his face. Virginia blushed.

"But, I thought that you were the one climbing up the stairs!" Virginia exclaimed. Jet shook his head.

"That was Gallows. I had enough sense to avoid his presence after that slip-up." He looked at the sunset. "This is where I usually hang out to avoid company."

Virginia looked down. "Okay, I'll get down."

Jet's face was blank momentarily, then it hardened. "You do that."

Virginia was a bit miffed from his response, and she started her descent down.

"GINNY, WHAT IN THE NAME OF HOT CHICKS ARE YOU DOING?!" Gallows yelled, and Virginia felt her legs being grabbed. Gallows pulled her in, and relief was on his face when he saw that she was safe and in the house. Virginia's sharp hearing caught a faint laugh outside the residence. _That wasn't funny, Jet..._

"Ginny, don't EVER do that again!" Gallows lectured sternly, placing her on a chair near the bedroom window. Virginia grew wide-eyed.

"Gallows, I'm sorry. I won't do that again." she replied. deeply touched that Gallows took care of her both like a brother and father. Completely unexpected from the ladies' man. He seemed a bit satisfied by the reply, and he began to leave. He stopped by the doorway and turned, a small, gentle smile on his lips.

"Be honest. Do you like the punk?"

"Gallows, that was a slip-up!" Virginia retorted, crossing her arms. An idea struck her. Evil and mean, but... "Why would I love a short, wannabe treasure hunter?" she asked loudly, hoping the question reached Jet's ears. Gallows gaped.

"Never expected you to say that..." Gallows said soflty.

_I think Jet didn't think so, either..._Virginia thought as she gleefully caught the characteristic snarl made only by the silver-haired punk.

"It's time to go to sleep, don't you think?" Virginia said as she saw the last bit of sunlight disappearing. Gallows nodded.

"Everyone did their chores, so we can probably leave tomorrow if you want leader," Gallows reported. His face softened. "Don't scare me like that again, 'kay?"

Virginia giggled. "Okay." Gallows then left the room. Virginia looked out the window, and the orange and pink sunset was replaced by a purplish sky. She felt lonely, and she decided to talk to a Guardian. Since death loomed near, it's about time she kept using her Shaman powers more often.

"Celisdue?" Virginia whispered softly. The gold medium glowed, and a female voice entered her mind.

"What is it?" Celisdue asked.

"Not much. Just wanted to talk to someone."

"Oh...so what do want to talk about."

"Dunno. My future, my life, my death, the afterlife, everything."

"You know, about the sacrifice. Luceid, Moor Gault, Dan Dairam, and I opposed the prospect. We didn't want to see you die."

"Really. That would explain Luceid's outburst during that meeting."

"Yeah.There are so many things we can do to save the planet, and yet Raftina and the others chose the tough way and decided to end the last surviving line of the Shamans."

"Oh, yeah, about that. Will a new race of Shamans begin if I save the planet?"

"I highly doubt it. Us Guardians and the mother planet do not want to face the tragedy like the one that happened thousands of years ago."

"The massacre."

"Yes. Thirteen days to go then?"

"Almost."

"Use your powers often. You're gonna die anyway."

"Cynical as always?"

"Absolutely."

"Good night, then, Cynics-due."

"Good night, Shaman."

The glow from the medium faded, and the oppressive loneliness engulfed Virginia. Hmmm...embrace her powers.

----------------------------------

**Flashback (12 years ago)**

"Mommy, look!! I can fly!" a seven-year-old Virginia giggled in delight as she soared above her mother, her wings flapping merrily.

"I can see, Ginny!" Ekatrina laughed as she watched her daughter with pride.Virginia then easily landed next to her mom, and Ekatrina gave her a hug.

"Hon, I'm so proud of you!! You were able to fly in a few hours!! Not many Shamans take up their powers that fast."

"But Mama, we're the only Shamans in the whole wide planet." Virginia said. She was an astute child, able to make wise observations.

"I know, but in my time when I was your age, I saw more Shamans practicing their powers."

"What happened to them?"

"They died. People hunted them down."

"Oh...then we need to take care of this secret, Mama."

"We should. Okay, back to your lessons. Let's see if you can undo a Guardian fusion..."

-------------------------------------

Virginia looked out the sky. A vast world that birds had access to, and she can have access too if Shamans weren't hunted down.

Guardian fusion, a new art created after the Massacre, was popular back then, and only strong Shamans were able to pull off that ability.

_Which proves I am a worthy sacrifice..._Virginia thought. Then she scoffed. _Duh, I AM the only Shaman._

She went to the closest bed, and she decided to sleep. _Tomorrow is a whole new day..._

_---------------------------------------_

Jet was still on the rooftop, enjoying the loneliness and welcoming the sweet embrace of the dark night. He kept thinking of the question Virginia gave Gallows and anger bubbled inside him when he thought of it. _She only wanted comeback for the reply I gave her..._Jet surmised, and he stretched his legs. Time to hit the sack...

He went down footfirst the rooftop with the grace of an acrobat, and he noticed with his feet that the window was still open. With a powerful swing, he was able to enter the Carradine residence, and he barely made a sound. He wanted the bed closest to the window, and he saw an occupant already fast asleep in his favorite spot. It was none other than Virginia Maxwell. She was sleeping soundly, and her arms were folded on her belly. Her face was directed to the window, and the moonlight worked its magic on her face. To Jet, she was a pale goddess, made elfin by the glow of the moon. Her body was nice and curved, and the white dress jacket under the pink one served to boldly outline the sweet curves. A slight blush appeared on Jet's cheeks. This wasn't the first night that Jet admired Virginia like this. Her beauty, her peacefulness made him regret the answer he gave her on the rooftop. He was selfish, and Virginia didn't know about this "territory" of his.

"Why do you care for me?" Jet found himself asking the sleeping maiden. To his surprise, Virginia began to mumble.

"I care...don't cry...you're one of us...don't leave..."

He cursed himself for disturbing her peace, and took the bed nearest to Virginia.

"Sleep well, Ginny."

-----------------------------

_That slip-up confirms it...she does like him..._

_Hmmmm..._

_Maybe the plan will work...if I find out her secret...and his feelings for her..._

_I should call this a night._

_----------------------------------_

"He confirmed it. The slip-up revealed a piece of her to him."

"I know."

"But what about if it was only just that, a slip-up?"

"He described the maiden's reaction. Hiding only proves it."

"So he is still carrying his end of the bargain?"

"Certainly! Unless he wants to see someone precious die."

----------------------------------------

**Author's Note:** So, did ya like the chappie so far? Review, please!! Reviews are my besssssssst friends!! (kisses reviews)

**Me: **And the plot unfolds...

**Cloud: **I think you're doing a great job!!

**Me:** Thanks!! (hugs Cloud)

**Kadaj: **Hug for me? (raises arms in expectation)

**Me: **What the hell...(hugs Kadaj)

(Kadaj stabs her with Souba)

**Me:** Wait a damn minute...(dies)

**Cloud: **I thought that was Sephiroth's job to slay LadyAeris...(runs off to save me)

**Kadaj: **(stores away Souba) I take after Papa.

**Sephiroth: **Do not compare youself to me!!! (dies)

**Kadaj: **Wah!!!(cries like a pussy)


	6. Vision and a Complication

**Author's Note:** Hey, it's me again! School is a drag and is severely sucking out my creative juices outta my brain. Adding the heat that's hot as the Devil's drawers...well, you get my point! . Oh yeah, some of my other stories will take a long time to update but don't worry! (smiles evilly) You'll be rewarded soon with a lemon in Silver God!!

**Cloud:** (sweatdrops)

**Me: **Anyways, I dedicate this chapter to Teefa and Co., you guys are the ONLY ones that review. For that, I'll reward you will a cool lemon chapter in Silver God. Courtesy of my perverted mind. Thank authors for vampire novels...

**Disclaimer:** Same as the rest.

---------------------------------------------

Virginia kept dreaming, a nightmare taking hold of her tired mind. Her dream was strange. The planet disintegrated to dust, a massacre that happened in front of a grand castle, and...the praying maiden. Except that she knew who it was. Slowly she made her way to the maiden, wanting to talk to her, for some reason. The maiden, to her surprise, looked at Virginia. The crystal-clear blue eyes, the porcelain skin, the bright smile. Virginia confirmed it. It was her. The maiden stood up from her praying position, and the floor shook violently as she made her way up on her two legs, seemingly unaware of the earthquake. The field of green and white flowers and the blue sky was replaced by a blood-red sky and barren desert.

"What do you want?" the smiling Virginia asked.

"What do you mean?" the real Virginia asked back. The smiling Virginia snapped her fingers and her family and friends appeared. Uncle Tesla, Aunt Shalte, Clive, Gallows, Jet...and almost everyone of Filgaia were apparating behind the mysterious maiden.

"The planet...or them?" she asked slowly with a touch of poison. Virginia grew confused.

"I'm making a sacrifice to save everyone. I save the planet, I save the people in it!"

The mysterious Virginia smiled a bit more broadly, a hint of malice on her features. "I meant...save the planet to be forgotten by the people, or let the planet die and stay in their memories?"

"?" Virginia's mind was a mess. Here was a shadow of herself, and she is placing choices in front of her. Also adding the fact that the other her looked slightly evil. Then she remembered. The Guardian meeting.

_Virginia nodded and stopped jumping. "I know...I 'm going to miss everyone..." Her face began to lose some of its cheerfulness, but soon after that tiny change her face brightened up. "But I will keep everyone alive! I will keep everyone's hopes and dreams from disappearing. People will be glad about me saving the world!"_

_Shuffle. Fidget. Some faces with discomfort. "What's the problem?" Again the Guardians didn't answer. _

"You mean...I'll be obliterated from everyone's memories if I go through with this?"

"Yes," the smiling Virginia answered. "Obliteration from memory means that you won't have a next life. You just won't die, you will only..."

----------------------------------------

"Wake up, sleepyhead!!" a cheerful voice shouted out. Virginia stirred in the bed. A yawn escaped from her lips, and, when she sat up, she stretched.

"What time is it?" Virginia slurred out sleepily. Gallows put an arm around her back and shook her up a bit.

"9:37 am! You kinda slept late, you know." Gallows then picked her up and put her in a standing position. "Hurry up, you don't want to miss breakfast!" He then proceded to leave the bedroom.

Virginia was a bit shocked from the shadow's revalation. _Disappear from people's memories..._

She shook her head._ Don't worry yourself. It was just a dream._

Virginia realized that she wore the same dress she worked hard in during her sleep. _I need a good shower, and I need new clothes..._

Virginia then tended to the bed, removing the worn sheets and replacing them with clean ones. She got out of the bedroom and went to the shower area, just beside the bedroom. Silky clean water was drawn into a bucket, and she grabbed some minty soap for her bath. She then proceeded her body cleansing, making sure she was squeaky clean for today.

---------------------------

"What's taking Ginny so long?" Clive thought out loud as he ate his Baskar salad. Jet, as usual, didn't give a reply, and Gallows gave a shrug.

"No idea," he said. "I did tell her to come down for breakfast. She must be preoccupied on something."

Halle gave a small smile. "I'll go ahead and check up on her, then." Halle then left the kitchen area and went to the bedroom floor. A sound of splashing water was heard from the washing area, and Halle immediately knew that she was taking a shower. She also saw a dress hanging in the front of the door._ Ha, she doesn't have anything to wear._ A big smile lit her wrinkled face, and she went to the closet next-door to the bathroom. _Some Baskar flavor will do her some good..._

---------------------------------------

Virginia's bath was refreshing, the cool water and the minty soap soothing her body and mind. She wrapped herself with a fluffy lavender towel with some charater symbols on them. A startling realization came to her. _What am I going to wear!?! My dress is all dirty! I should have thought of that before I got in the bath._ Heaving a soft aigh, she opened the door leading outside. When she closed the door to grab her dress, she realized it was gon, but was replaced by some strange clothing.

Virginia recognized the smooth fabric and symbols inscribed here, and she knew that this was Baskar clothing. _I must thank whoever left this._

Virginia went to the bedroom, excited to try on the Baskar clothing. She closed the window and pulled the blinds. She set the clothes on the bed she had slept on and she began to dress up. _This is kind of strange...but I'll go for it!_

_----------------------------------------_

Jet, Clive and Gallows were waiting patiently for their leader. Jet stood by the doorway leaning in the cool-pose I-don't-care-what's-happening way. Clive and Gallows were sitting on the cleared table that was occupied with an omelet and a steaming mug of chocolate. They heard footsteps coming down, and they looked to see if it was Virginia, but it was Halle.

"Is Giiny still upstairs?" Gallows asked. Halle gave him a small smile, still coming down the stairs.

"Yes, she is taking care of some things." Halle said, making her progress to the Maxwell gang. Gallows gave a stupig goofy grin.

"What, does she have _lady _problems to attend to?" Gallows asked wickedly, and he began to guffaw at the top of his lung. Clive just shook his head and Jet smirked. Within a split second Halle was right in front of her perverted grandson, and she raised her cane.

**THWACK!!**

"Dammit Granny!! I was joking!!!" Gallows yelled as he rubbed the usual spot above his forehead. Halle gave him a disgusted look.

"Guardians, I haven't raised you that way!" Halle blasted out. "You have one sick mind Gallows, so if you have nothing appropiate to say, then BITE YOUR TONGUE!!"

"Is something the matter?" a soft voice asked. They looked at the top of the stairs, and what they saw made a huge impression on the males.

Virginia wore a light-brown shirt that really wasn't much of a shirt. Think of it along the lines of a sort of bra-shirt, and it had a poncho design to it. It almost resembled Jet's poncho, yet it hugged her body perfectly and revealed her features much better than the usual pink dress. It wrapped itself just below her arms, and her shoulders were bare. Her belly was showing, and the bottom wear was a beautiful skirt that was also light brown and inscribed with red symbols. It reached to her knees and it almost seemed like a dress. Lastly, her hair was let down instead of the braid she always wore. Her hair was wavy and looked live a river of brown.

_Beautiful..._thought Jet.

Virginia blushed, and she twirled around in her new attire. "So, what do you think?" she asked shyly.

"Wow Ginny, you look great!" commented Gallows.

"You look quite marvelous in those clothes." stated Clive in his usual teacherly voice.

"Heehee," Virginia giggled. She turned to the punk. "What say you, Jet?"

He seemed to be in some sort of debate, and he bit his lip. "Whatever." He said flatly.

Virginia's giggles renewed. That answer was so typical that instead of the chill she used to feel to hear it back then, she now felt a bit light-hearted.

"Okay, whatever." She answered back in the flat tone Jet used, and she settled down on the table. "Thank you for leaving me breakfast, it was kind of you!"

She ate the delicious food, the omelet and the warm chocolate hitting the spot.

--------------------------------

_She's eating the bait...the result might scare them..._

_--------------------------------_

_"_Wow, that was delicious!" Virginia squealed in delight as she patted her tummy with satisfaction. "Who made this?"

"Shane did, of course!" Halle said proudly. Right at that moment Shane came in, looking a bit spaced out.

"Uh, Shane, are you okay?" Virginia asked slowly, walking towards the young Baskar. His green eyes snapped back to life and he shook his head.

"Sorry, it was another vision." Shane murmured apologetically.

"You're not the only one." Halle said out loud. Virginia turned her direction, and she saw her pointing at Jet. He just stood there, his eyes having the same dazed look that Shane had moments ago. Halle snapped her fingers right by Jet's ears. "Wake up!" she half-shouted.

"Wha..?" slurred Jet out, his eyes sliding out of focus a bit. He also shook his head, a slight dazed look on his face. His facial expression was quickly replaced with an angry one.

"Dammit!" he hissed, placing his hand on his forehead and shaking his head. "Another vision sight."

"What did you see this time?" Clive asked. Jet looked daggers at him, yet he answered the question.

"The same thing, except I saw the praying girl stand up and the grass field just died when she did that." Jet replied. Shane looked at him in an astonished way.

"I had the same vision too!" he gasped out.

Virginia felt queasy. _I had that vision too! _She straightened her face, determined not to show any hint of fear about the visions. If what she is dreaming is what they perceive, then what will happen if they find out the identity of the praying maiden and the meaning of the visions?

"I'm gonna go out and check on the horses!" Virginia said in an energetic tone. She turned to Shane. "Thanks for the food!"

She proceeded towards the exit and towards the field outside of Baskar. She breathed in deeply, feeling her nerves tightening and her heart beating a bit fast. _Maybe the Guardians will know what to do to take care of the situation..._ She took another deep breath, trying to relax herself. _Wait a minute..._

Virginia repeatedly took in deep breaths, yet she felt her lungs starting to constrict and her muscles beginning to tighten up a lot. Her head started to feel a bit woozy, and her body started to lose some strength. _What's...hap...pen..ing..._

She felt her body tipping backwards, and she felt herself slipping out of consciousness. This was exactly how she felt when Leehalt cursed her with the nanomachines. _Daddy knew the cure...and he's not here! _Her body tried to take its necessary air supply, and she started to hyperventalate as a result. She clutched her throat, feeling the tightness increasing in that specific location.

One wheeze later, Virginia fainted.

----------------------------

_Perfect, it worked! Now for the others to take care of the job...and then leave us in peace._

_Please forgive me for this sin..._

_---------------------------_

Jet may seem like an innatentive guy who didn't give a rat's ass for anyone else, yet he heard a faint wheeze outside the village. He peered out of the door, and he noticed a small lump just outside the village gate. Jet walked out of the Carradine residence to get a close look at the strange lump on the floor outside the village. The lump was mostly brown, but as Jet walked closer, he realized in horror that the lump was Virginia!

He quickly ran to her, feeling many emotions coursing in him. He reached there in a few seconds, and he clutched at the poor maiden.

"Virginia!! Please wake up Virginia!!" Jet shouted at the limp girl, desperately shaking her petite body to coax a responce, any responce, from the still maiden.

"What's wrong?" Gallows shouted as he ran towards the worried treasure hunter.

"Is something the matter?" Clive called out to the silver-haired Drifter, running with Gallows to reach Jet.

"I don't know what's wrong, dammit! She's all still and won't respond to anything I say!" Jet roared, clutching the young girl a little closer to his body.

"What the hell..?" Gallows asked hoarsely, looking at the limp figure.

"Shane!" Clive shouted out. The young Baskar came moments later, and his face grew a little pale.

"What happened to her?" he asked weakly. Jet just growled and revealed Virginia.

"Help her out!!" Jet commanded the Baskar. "Heal her!"

"Calm down Jet, shouting won't do anything." said Clive in a calm voice. He proceeded to pick up their leader, and to his surprise, he heard a growl coming from Jet as the sniper took her away from his protective clutch. "Shane, we need to doctor her right away. Can you tell what's wrong with her?"

Shane placed his brown hand over her forehead, and he closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on what ailed her. He opened his eyes and looked at Clive. "She's in a coma now." Shane said quietly.

Everyone's eyes widened. "A coma?" Gallows echoed, not willing to believe what he just heard.

"Yes, a coma. It was caused from poison, I think. Either that or someone instilled it on her." Shane reported in a faint voice.

"How can something instill a coma in her!?!" Jet roared out, his temper flailing like crazy.

"A powerful paralysis ailment can make a person have such a coma. Either that, or poison." Clive said, carefully making his way towards the village doctor, none other than Halle. Jet cursed under his breath, and he followed his companions soon after.

----------------------------------

Virginia woke up inside her mind, and she felt a bit numb all over. She was in the meeting place where she conversed with the Guardians.

"Wow, what happened?" she asked herself. She noticed three bright lights in front of her, and when they revealed themselves, knew that they were the Guardians she currently equipped.

"Virginia, what happened to you?" Celisdue asked in an alarmed voice. "You began to twitch, and it reminded me of the nanomachine incident a year back."

"I don't know," Virginia answered back, just as confused as her Guardian. "I just began to convulse right away."

Schturdark studied her, thinking deeply upon the matter. "Have you eaten anything suspicious, anything that looked funny?"

Virginia shook her head. "All I ate was the breakfast the Baskar boy Shane served me."

"The pillar?" Raftina said in astonishment. She ran her hand through her blonde hair. "I wonder..."

"You think Shane poisoned me?" Virginia asked increduously. "He wouldn't even harm a Gob."

"If that's what you think..." Raftina said slowly. She looked at Virginia. "I'll check the physical state of your body. I want to find out what kind of poison the villain fed you." She then disappeared in a flash of gold.

"Shane poisoning me is out of the question, and that's that!" Virginia declared. "Someone else must have poisoned me."

"Who would have poisoned you?" Celisdue asked Virginia, a bemused look on her face. "Someone must have a grudge against you or something."

"I have no idea..." Virginia mused, placing her hand on her forehead.

"Oh yeah, nice outfit." Schurdark commented. Virginia giggled a bit.

"I'm currently poisoned and in a coma, and you comment on my clothes?" she smirked. Celisdue grinned.

"Don't get so serious, Virginia. You're not dead or anything." She then gave a big grin. "You have Jetty-poo on your case, heehee..."

"Not you too!" Virginia groaned. "First Gallows and Clive, and now you Guardians!"

Schurdark chuckled. "It was Raftina's idead to hook you up. When she saw you two together, she thought you would make a great couple and made your coupling her job."

Virginia blushed big time. "Come on, now..."

"Big problem!" the voice of Raftina said, and she appeared quickly in front of the Guardians. "It's not good! The poison...it reveals your identity as a Shaman."

"What?!?!" Virginia exclaimed, putting a hand on her mouth.

"The poison is supposed to instantly kill any human when it is in the body, but to Shamans it just places them in temporary coma!!" Raftina said nervously.

The other Guardians just stared at their flustered sister. "Now her identity may be found out..." Celisdue said faintly.

Virginia just shook, scared of what the others will think if they found out about the meaning of her ailment.

----------------------------------

"Did you see that? It didn't kill her!"

"I saw that, you dimwit! That means only one thing..."

"Heh. We have ourselves a Shaman."

----------------------------------

_Wait, they said that the poison is supposed to kill anyone that eats it._

_So she should be dead right now._

_I'll need to ask them about this._

_------------------------------_

**Author's Note:** More mystery than you can shake a stick at, eh? Well, it'll just get better...

**Me: **Squee!! Another chapter done!! Hey, where is everyone?

**Kadaj: **Typing the lemon chapter of the soon to be updated Silver God.

**Me: **Without me? (is now outraged)

**Cloud's voice:** We need your help, you know. Can't do this ourselves.

**Sephiroth's Voice:** Pitiful chapter. (dies)

**Cloud's Voice: **Ignore the bugger, the chapter's comin' along great!

**Me: **Yay! (dies from excitement)

**Cloud: **(sweatdrops)


	7. Realization and Awakening

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoy the chapter just as much as I love Cloud. And I _love_ Cloud.

**Cloud: **Yay! No more Jet madness!!

**LadyAeris1997:** (sighs) I still like Jet, but _you_ are the one for me. You're my bodyguard, remember that?

**Cloud: **I know, hon, I know...(wicked smile)

**LadyAeris1997: **(sweatdrops) On with the story then, shall we?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, you should know that by now, sheesh!

-----------------------------------

"We now have a Shaman to take care of..."

"Heh, not to take care of, but to own. She's the last of her kind, I bet. Either that, or the others are in hiding."

"But, what CAN we do with a Shaman?"

"Many, many things..."

"Like what?"

"You'll see...let's hope he's smart enough to take care of this..."

"Shall I send the troops?"

"...No. They'll guard her with their lives, especially the white-haired man."

"So we wait?"

"Yes. We wait."

-----------------------------------

Virginia was now a puddle of nerves, the news about a possible revealment making her fidgety. She was pacing back and forth, her feelings getting the best of her. The Guardians just watched her.

"Oh, no. Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Virginia repeated over and over again. Schurdark sighed.

"Enough, Virginia, being nervous won't do a thing." the water Guardian said wearily. "You're stuck in your head, so pacing in your mind won't do anything."

"It's true," Celisdue added, and then she gave a grin. "Since your precious punk is being his overprotective self, nothing will happen to you."

"Celisdue!" Virginia whined. "Keep mentioning a lovestruck punk and I swear I'll stay in a coma!"

Raftina grinned with her sister. "She's right. Jet will not let anything harm you. He cares for you a lot, you know."

"Wow, acting mean _is_ the best way to show his caring side," Virginia muttered sarcastically. "I guess a slap on the face would show that he _really_ does love me."

Celisdue smirked. "I guess you are taking over me in the sarcasm factor, Ginny."

Schurdark interrupted by saying, "What shall we do once the Shaman is out of her coma?"

"Us Guardians will protect her." Raftina simply said.

"How?" Virginia asked.

"Though we manifest ourselves through the will of a person, we can also appear if you use a certain ability of yours." Celisdue said.

"Guardian fusion," Virginia whispered. She smiled.

"I distinctly remember Virginia fusing with me most of the time," Raftina said smugly. "Lucky me that I have wings, huh?"

"Oh, shush, sis!" Celisdue said in a mock hurt voice. "I bet Ginny felt pity for you, so she fused with you so you wouldn't feel left out, big sis."

"Um, there's still the problem of using my powers in front of my friends, you know," Virginia spoke up. "I'm a Shaman, I'd probably be hunted by them or some other coot."

"Use your might whenever you want, the time of the Shamans have come to an end anyways." Celisdue rang out, earning herself a disapproving glance from her brother and sister.

"Yeah, great way to lay it on her, right?" muttered Schurdark, shaking his reptilian head.

"What time is it?" Virginia asked, ignoring the cynical remark of the Dark Guardian.

"Two days have passed." Raftina said. Virginia gasped.

"WHAT?!?!" she yelped out. "How in heck did two days pass?"

"Didn't you know, time inside your head doesn't pass exactly like the time outside," Raftina stated. "Brother Dan Dairam loves to play tricks with time. Like when time passed a bit quickly when you have fun? Another playful trick of his. The 'staying-stuck-in-your-head-in-a-coma' timing is faster than the outside timing."

"Two days..."Virginia whispered. "Ten days to go..."

"Don't feel sad, Ginny." Celisdue moaned. "I don't want such a pretty face ruined by grief."

"I want to wake up." Virginia said, stomping her foot. "How can I wake?" She began to stomp the floor of her mind, hoping that her physical body would react to the action.

"Well, we'll have to wait." Raftina said. Celisdue just played with her hair, Schurdark just stood still, and Virginia finally sat down.

And they waited.

-----------------------------

"She still didn't wake up yet?" groaned Gallows to himself as he entered the bedroom of the Carradine residence. He saw the limp form of the leader, and the sight alone answered his question. Gallows noticed Jet sitting beside the maiden, and his worried face cracked a smile. _I want to say some things to that punk, but..._

Gallows, holding back any comments or laughter, left the silver-haired Drifter by himself with the young girl. He didn't want to disturb such a precious moment with the punk.

----------------------------

"Please wake up." Jet murmured to the girl. He saw the pale face and slender form of the girl laying there, no reaction whatsoever with the unusually kind words that came out of his mouth.

He sat next to her for two days, ignoring most of his neccessities to look after her. She lay still, her eyes closed, her breathing steady. Jet wished he knew what to do to cure her, willing to do anything to help her out. Now, sitting beside her and just looking after her, he knew that faith would reveal an answer, or show a hopeful sign. Jet chuckled. Since when did he become so soft?

It might have started back in Serpent's Coils, when Virginia was in harm's way. In a different time, Jet might have ignored the person that was about to be crushed, and would have let fate take its course. With Virginia, however, he made an exception for a reason.

Ever since he began to accept Virginia for who she was, a little spot in his heart was carved out for her, a special place he had for the honey-haired maiden who had naive ideals and a romantic dream of drifting. His tough side revealed the harshness of the wastelands, and he showed it to the innocent girl with the cruel form of words and logic. She ignored the lad, and she only saw the positive sides of the vast world of Filgaia, taking in the sights with wide eyes and treasuring the memories she had out in the desert. Jet at first was judging the girl as foolish and he sneered at her, but during their travels Virginia tried to show him the wonderful things in life, like the baby birds in some nest or a tiny clutch of flowers growing in the corner of some rock in the wasteland. He ignored these simple blessings, but overtime Virginia's ideas about blessings and appreciation began to stick with him. He began to see the world in a new light, but he hid this wonderful point of view with an acid tongue and his cruel attitude. He didn't want anyone to see how soft he was getting. He had a reputation to keep and wasn't willing to destroy his image.

When Virginia was under the falling ceiling and was about to be crushed, the new Jet, shaped and altered by the kind words of the girl, wanted to save her, and did so by putting his life at risk and ultimately rescuing her from death. Virginia was thankful and said nice things to him, but Jet just ignored her and acted the tough man to shake her off to continue on with their journey. He didn't want to shake her off. That wasn't his true intention. He wanted to scold her about doing such a foolish thing. He wanted to hug her, thank her for her wise words, wanted to kiss her to show how much he was grateful about her saving his humanity.

And now he was just sitting, unable to do a thing except wait and letting Virginia fight off the coma._ I want to say so many things to you...an apology, tender words...Why won't you wake up?!?! You're the leader, you're supposed to pull through. I wish I can do something..._

Jet looked at his hands, the hands that jumpstarted a computer system, the hands that thwarted the nanomachine production, the hands that killed Leehalt with a fierce green glow. He wanted to use his power to help her out, but he didn't know what the result would have been, what would have happened if he used such a terrible power to try and cure her._ It might kill her, or make her disappear like Leehalt or something..._

"If you don't wake up, I don't know what I would do. You saved me, saved me from being a cold-blooded monster I was about to become. I don't want you to stay like this,_ please_!" Jet confessed to the still maiden.

Then, with an action that showed how much he cared, no, _loved_ her, he leaned from his sitting spot and kissed her. He held her hand and wanted to let his warmth to seep into her, he stroked her cheek with a tender caress. This was out-of-character for the silver-haired Drifter, yet he didn't care if anyone saw him. Even a green haired sniper who happened to be spying this scene and taking this in with a small smile.

--------------------------------

"Clive, what have you been doing?" asked Gallows slyly, his eyes narrow with mischief. Clive, who came down the stairs, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and shrugged.

"I was merely checking our leader to see what state she was in." Clive stated, making his way to the kitchen table. Gallows scoffed.

"Yeah, and I single-handedly took on Nega-Filgaia," Gallows boasted, then he clapped the flustered sniper around the arms. "Spill it. What did the punk do?"

"He was doing what he was doing. He was watching over Virginia as usual." Clive said. His glasses were in danger of falling down from the hard shake Gallows gave next.

"And?" Gallows cooed out, trying to coax out an answer from the sniper.

Clive cleared his throat. "Jet acted tender with the leader."

"And?!?!" Gallows cooed louder, determined to get an answer.

"He kissed her." Clive muttered darkly. Gallows, instead of acting like a child on vacation, began to get angry: his temple on his forehead began to throb madly.

"THAT SICK PUNK! I SWEAR, IF HE DOES ANYTHING TO GINNY, I WILL..!" Gallows roared out, but Clive interrupted him by stifling the sounds with his hand.

"Jet would not do such a thing! Don't jump to such conclusions!" Clive hissed, determined to keep the Baskar quiet. Gallows shoved Clive off, panting slightly.

"Okay, dammit! The punk better watch what he's doing, though..." Gallows growled, and he sat on the chair on the lunch table, muttering to himself. Clive merely shrugged again, and he looked outside the house.

"It's getting dark, we should go to sleep right now." Clive said, and he began to head upstairs. Gallows, still hissing under his breath, went along with the sniper. He needed to get some rest to wrestle some answers from the punk.

-------------------------

_Another day of waiting...this is taking too long, she doesn't move!_

_The people seemed to be more interested in her when I revealed her condition, and now, they do nothing!_

_I want them to leave...if they don't do something, I will._

_---------------------------_

Jet began to nod off to sleep, ignoring his hunger pangs and his stiff muscles. He was aware of the other two settling down to go to sleep, and he ignored them, the best thing he was good at. The steady sounds of their breathing was heard, mingling with Virginia's breathing. Jet only focused on her, not letting other sounds distract him from watching her.

"Well, with the way you stare at her, it's a wonder that no fire is escaping from your eyes." Halle chuckled. Jet jumped slightly from the sudden speaking.

"Oh, hey." Jet said in a flat tone, setting up his barriers. Halle placed a hand on his taut shoulder.

"Relax, boy, I'm not going to hurt you! If you were Gallows, it would have been a different story..." Halle said in a low voice, then she shook her head to dismiss the thought. "What's on your mind? Still worried about Virginia?"

"Yes." Jet answered. He still held Virginia's hands and kept staring at her face. Halle had a knowing look on her face.

"You love her, don't you?" Halle asked. Jet looked at Halle straight in the eye.

"Why do you ask?" Jet said.

"You seem a lot different from the violent young man that came to the village a year ago." Halle replied. Jet scoffed.

"So what if I changed? That doesn't mean a thing." Jet muttered. Halle's grip on his shoulder tightened a bit.

"Love can change you in many ways, Jet. Remember that." Halle said to him wisely. Before he could say a thing, Halle placed in his lap some bread. "Eat something, you abused your body's needs for far too long." Halle then left the room.

Jet looked at the piece of bread on his lap, and he ate it hungrily. So he loved Virginia then, huh? _Explains the changes I have gone through..._

Already finished with the bread, he again took Virginia's hands with his own. "Good night, Virginia..." he whispered, and he drifted to sleep.

Little did he know that his hand started to emit a warm green glow and angulfed Virginia's silhouette with the light.

------------------------------------

"Hey, what's happeneing to me?!?!" Virginia yelled out, noticing her body glowing green. The Guardians looked stumped, but then they realized...

"It's him!" Celisdue squealed. "He healed you!"

"Jet..." Virginia began, but she felt herself drifting to consciousness.

-------------------------------

Virginia woke up. She stirred from her sleeping position, and she felt her body all stiff and tired. Wait a minute. Someone held her hand. It was dark, and she couldn't make out who held her hand. She was about to tug it away until she realized that the hands that held her were so warm, so soft. Virginia was comforted by these strong yet gentle hands, and all her worries drifted away.

Virginia went to sleep.

_I guess this makes nine days to go then..._

_-----------------------------_

**Author's Note:**Hope you liked it, please review and all that mush...

**Cloud: **THAT'S how much I love you!

**Me:** Aw, how sweet!

**Sephiroth: **And THIS is how much I love you! (stabs me)

**Me:** Loser...(dies)

**Cloud: **Off to the rescue, then! (runs to save me)


	8. Playfulness and Love's Bloom

**Author's Note:** Hiya, it's me!! I updated, and I hope you like this chappie!! Review please, and enjoy!! This chappie is again dedicated to Teefa and Co. and a new reviewer, narukaze! Thanks for the support, and I hope this chappie will please you!! .

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wild Arms...

----------------------------

_That nap was refreshing,_ Virginia thought as she began to stir from her slumber. She saw that she wore different clothes, this time being a similar style to the other she wore, except the shirt had spaghetti straps and the skirt was a bit shorter. Virginia giggled. These clothes must have been Halle's wish for her to wear them. A bit daring, but she wasn't uncomfortable wearing that. It was a nice change from her usual dress.

_Oh, Ginny!_ giggled Celisdue.

_What?_ Virginia thought.

_I never knew you liked him that much, eh?_

_Liked who?_

_Look who's hand you are holding!! Tee hee!_

_What?!?!_

Virginia saw that the warm gentle hands that held hers so delicately was Jet's hands. This made her blush big time, and she turned away, finding the outside suddenly interesting. The sky had a tinge of purple and orange. It must be around 4 o clock or something, Virginia guessed.

_Virginia and Jet! Virginia and Jet! Virginia and Jet!!_ Celisdue sang out loud in her mind, and then she burst out laughing.

_Okay, Celisdue, stop it!! I get your point, I like Jet. _Virginia thought angrily.

_Ha! You confessed!! _Celisdue gushed out.

_N-no, wait!! I didn't mean it that way, I meant..! _Virginia stuttered in her mind.

_Whatever, bye! _Celisdue said happily, and then there was silence.

Virginia's blush deepened, the supposed "confession" making her seem more lovestruck to the silver-haired man. She saw his face, very peaceful looking and...where those dark circles in his eyes?!?! Virginia stretched her arm to his face and began to stroke him lightly. She also noticed that his face looked a bit thinner and his complexion a bit pallid.

_Poor Jet, what happened to him?_ Virginia thought worriedly. Careful not to disturb him in any way, she eased herself off the bed. She took care not to move him, and she headed towards the kitchen, determined to feed him something. _I guess he looks that way because he didn't eat..._

She immediately began to cook, making her usual omelets and bacon, the things she cooks when the gang wants some food to eat. The delicious aroma of eggs and sizzling meat filled the house, and the aroma reached the room where the men slept. The scent reached the nostrils of the three men, and that woke them up.

---------------------------------

"Mmm, what's smells good?" Gallows slurred out as his nose detected the delectable aroma wafting in the room.

"Smells like...eggs and bacon..." Clive murmured, his nose also picking up on the scent.

"Eggs and bacon..." Jet muttered sluggishly, the smell of the food filling his nostrils. He looked at the bed, expecting to find Virginia still laying in a stiff position. Shock coursed through his body when he saw that Virginia was gone.

"What the hell?!?!" Jet cursed out loud, immediately raising himself up. He already headed towards the bottom floor to find the girl while Clive and Gallows barely got out of bed. He made his way down the stairs in haste, unable to see clearly due to the little light available. He finally made his way to the kitchen, and he noticed the sizzling pan and the steam coming from the eggs. A slender silhouette was tending to the plates near the food.

"Who are you?" Jet barked out to the slender figure. He saw the body flinch and turn around. The little light didn't illuminate anything; instead, it seemed to make the mystery person seem more mysterious.

"Umm, who are you? I can't see you." said a soft voice. Jet stiffened when he heard the soft voice, it seemed familiar...

"Virginia?!?!" Jet burst out. The figure tilted her head and suddenly she perked up.

"Oh, Jet it's you!" Virginia cried, and she immediately ran forwards to hug him. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Jet, much to her surprise and his own, hugged her back. Virginia giggled. "Wow, Jet, is this really you? The Jet I know wouldn't do this."

"The Jet you knew is long gone." Jet whispered, hugging her closer. He was oblivious to the fierce blush appearing on the girl's face. He disengaged from the hug, and he frowned. "Why are you up and about? You were in a coma."

"Umm, I just woke up, is all." Virginia said innocently, tilting her head again. Jet stared at her, and he knew she lied.

"Whatever," he said, shrugging. "At least you're okay."

Virginia gave him a bright smile, and she headed towards the food. "I saw how you looked like when I woke up, and I thought that you didn't eat properly. So I decided to cook for you." Virginia then looked at Jet with a worried look. "You looked so tired and thin...I thought something bad happened to you, so I decided to cure that."

Jet wanted to tell her about his diligent watchfulness, his worry for her, the things he confessed to her, like if she was a holy relic. He really wanted to say something, but, to his anger, he shrugged and said "Whatever."

Virginia rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, be that way then." she said playfully, and she served him some egg and bacon. She pushed the plate to his hands, and he merely stared. "Eat something, it'll so you good." Virginia said warmly, and she headed outside.

Jet just watched her leave, and he saw the delicious plate of food made by this maiden. Jet sighed. Virginia was a big mystery. She can be tough and mean, but she can be kind and compassionate in an instant. She altered her personality with him between great friend to a babysitter. He liked neither personality. He didn't want to be just Virginia's friend, and he certainly wasn't a big baby. Werner's training and words saw to that.

He ate standing up, chewing with relish the tasty breakfast made by the girl. The coma did teach him one thing, though. He should take care of her more, and that will be the first thing he'll do when he was done eating.

----------------------

Virginia's spirit soared when she left the building, wanting to stretch her stiff body and just lent loose all the stored energy inside her.

"Wow, the air smells fresh!" Virginia sighed as she took in the pure oxygen through her nose. She twirled a bit, and she then gave a lighthearted laugh.

"_Why the merry attitude, Virginia?_" Raftina sked, her delicate voice inside Virginia's mind.

"I'm happy!" Virginia squealed. "Jet cured me, he watched over me, I guess...and he cares!" She then ran next to the mound of rocks located at the center of the village. She promptly sat down and took in more lungfuls of air, her happiness elevating her spirits.

"_See, told you he loves you."_ Raftina said smugly. Virginia didn't even blush at that comment.

"Well, then, you were right, then. But..." Virginia then began to think.

_"What's wrong?" _Raftina asked.

"How can I show Jet that I like him back?" Virginia muttered, playing with her fingers.

_"Simple!" _said a different female voice. It was Celisdue. "_Just pucker up and plant a wet one on him!" _

_"Celisdue!" _Raftina fussed. "_I'm the Love Guardian, so keep your nose out of this business!"_

_"Oh, sis, come on, you know as well as I do that Virginia wants to kiss the guy, so why deny it?"_ Celisdue said sweetly. _That_ comment made the honey-haired maiden blush.

"_Just quit, Celisdue. Please. You're acting like a child, not a Guardian." _Raftina said.

_"Aw, but that makes the job boring! I want to have fun, and Virginia happens to be my favorite Shaman!" _Celisdue said.

"Guys, you should stop fighting. And...I only have nine days left, so I can't exactly say to Jet 'I love you' when I'm about to die." Virginia whispered sadly.

_"...I'm sorry, Ginny, I am. But we told you to enjoy your time, which means enjoy your time with the people around you. Specifically Jet, of course." _Celisdue said in an apologetic tone.

_"I agree with my sister on this one." _Raftina stated. _"You need to have fun while it lasts. Also, you changed Jet's world. You turned him from cold and uncaring to warm and sweet. Well, sort of warm and sweet." _Raftina giggled. "_Even though you're gone, the words and the moments you share together will stay with him, always."_

"Which brings me to another thing." Virginia said. "I had a vision, and I saw myself giving me choices. She told me to choose between staying in memories or give my life up for them." There was silence. "If I sacrifice myself...will I completely be wiped out from everyone's memories?"

"..."

"..."

"I see." Virginia said sadly. "I would disappear, and no one will remember me."

"..._that's why I objected_." Celisdue muttered. "_I knew about the consequences of the sacrifice, and I didn't want that to happen to you. The thing is...well, let me put it like this. Everything has memories. And people in a way are memories, stored in the planet. When they come back to life, the planet chooses the memory it wishes to bring back and the person would be born. That's why people would look like someone from the past. Well, you would be wiped out from memory. Your lineage, your existance...everything. That means you won't come back. Even the planet will have your memory wiped out from it. Your sacrifice would require a lot of power, and some of it come from your memories and people's memories. It...it wold be like..."_

_"If you never existed." _finished Raftina sadly. Tears began to well up in the poor girl's eyes.

"I'm still gonna go through this," Virginia said softly. She bowed her head, feeling depressed. "For everyone. It's better to give up one life than letting everyone die."

Again there was silence. Virginia's happy attitude went from happy to mope-n-cope. _I know this is sad for me, but I'll keep my treasures safe. So I'll have the best time of my life! While I still have it..._

She heard footsteps on the grass behind the rock mound. She then grew alert, expecting to see some crook. Virginia rolled her eyes. This is usually how she acts when she sees fellow Drifters in the wasteland. _I'm starting to get paranoid..._

Virginia shrugged, and she walked the mound opposite of where the footsteps were headed. To her surprise, she heard the footsteps following her path. She giggled. She was smothering her mirth as she walked around the rock while hearing the footsteps right behind her. It could have been anyone, and yet Virginia was having fun playing with the person.

Still giggling a bit, she made her way to the top of the rock mound. It was a bit of a tough climb, but she made her way up nonetheless. It was tall enough that no one except for a 7 foot man would be able to see her. She still heard the footsteps walking around the rock, and she felt laughter rumbling in her throat. _Why am I acting like a kid? _Virginia wondered. A broad smile was on her face, and the depression from her soon-to-be-coming doom didn't faze her. The footsteps stopped. She heard a scuffling sound to the right of her._ The person must be climbing up, I guess, _Virginia thought. She shrugged. _No matter, the person must have something to say or some other business..._

She waited for a few moments, and she heard no more noise. She sat, taking in the sights of Baskar Village and breathing the clean air. _I think the person gave up,_ Virginia thought. She spoke too soon. Just as she thought that, she heard a rushing sound in the air and felt arms wrapping around her.

-------------------------------

Jet smirked as he held the maiden a bit tightly, aware of the girl giving a surprise squeak. He saw the girl turn around, shock evident in her wide eyes. Then she laughed.

"Oh, so _you _were the impostor!" Virginia said dramatically. She grabbed his arm and tried to pry him off. "So, impostor, why so playful today?"

"_Playful?"_ Jet said in a disbelieving tone. "Jet Enduro isn't playful." He still held her in his arms. He was surprised he was going along with their 'game' so well when he would have said 'Whatever' or shove her off.

"Okay then, _Jet Enduro _isn't playful." Virginia joked. "Why is this man holding me acting very childish?"

"Maybe he's happy that you're alright." Jet said to the honey-haired maiden. One arm still held her waist while the other held her right arm. This made Virginia's struggle pretty hard for her.

"Okay, then he's happy. Why is he acting so very uncharacteristically of Jet Enduro? This isn't like him." Virginia asked, noticing that her struggle was pretty much in vain. Jet thought for a while.

"Maybe because he is able to do some other things than just ignoring others." Jet replied. Virginia giggled, still trying to free herself.

"Okay then, mystery man, what other things are you able to do that Jet Enduro can't?" Virginia asked.

"Well...he can care for others, he looks at life differently. He's almost opposite of Jet." the silver-haired man replied. Virginia let a sigh out.

"I wonder...why you are different than Jet Enduro. He seemed very violent, and never listened to anyone unless it profited him." Virginia thought out loud. That made Jet feel a bit sad about the way he acted towards his comrades at the beginning. "You seem more...happy, I guess."

"Because a certain person changed the color of his world." Jet said out loud, and he blushed. _Damn, now the secret's out._

"A certain person, huh?" Virginia asked thoughtfully. "Enlighten me."

"This person was kind to me when the others didn't give a damn for me, and I took it for granted. Then the words this certain person said began to make him realize what he had in front of him, and he tried to change himself for her, hoping the certain person would notice." Jet said carefully.

A moment of silence. "I guess that certain person didn't want your life to be about hopelessness. The person wanted you to live a good, happy life, unbound by the harsh reality of life." Virginia said quietly. He sucked in his breath. _She knows._

"Well, I wish I can thank the certain person properly for everything. But I don't know what to do." Jet murmured.

"Do what you heart tells you, it might give you a good answer." Virginia said sagely. She stopped struggling. "I'm glad to have met you, mystery man."

"I'm glad you met him," Jet said. His grip was still strong. "I'm glad that you were able to speak with him."

"Well, now I'm ready to speak to Jet Enduro. His grip is strong, and I want to go free. May I speak with him?" Virginia asked sweetly, giggling at the things she said.

Jet smirked again. "He's here, and he still isn't through playing." Jet declared.

"Okay then, I know what to do to make_ him _let go. Bye!" She said brightly.

"Why would you say that?" Jet asked Virginia. He didn't notice a grin on her face and a blush on her cheeks, unaware of the plan she devised to get him to let go.

"Because of this!" Virginia said dramatically, and she kissed him right on his cheek. Jet froze as emotions and tingles rushed through him bullet fast, and he felt his grip go slack. He saw Virginia jump up and got away from him. He was still a bit dazed from what she has done. Virginia turned around, and put her hands on her hips.

"Nice try holding on to me!" Virginia said, and she stuck out her tongue playfully. She jumped down from the rock mound and left Jet to himself, still frozen. _Did she just...kiss me?!?!_ He touched his cheek where her lips made contact, and a bunch of thoughts pervaded his mind. He saw her running, laughing her heart out. She made her way to the Carradine residence, and Jet just sat there. His body then regained function, and he too made his way to the house, feeling light-headed from the spontaneous act made by the chatterbox.

-----------------------------

"Virginia, you're okay!" Clive exclaimed, giving her a hug when she came in.

"Dangit, Ginny, you scared us!" boomed Gallows, and he joined the hug. Virginia smiled.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, but yup, I'm okay!" Virginia said. Gallows let go and he smiled slyly.

"There's one person who would want to know how you're faring..." he said, the sly smile on his face widening.

Clive slapped his forehead lightly. "Jet wasn't on his usual patrol watch. My guess is that he knows too."

Gallows laughed. "Yeah, I forgot. Hey, Ginny, the guy likes you a lot. He watched over you like a guardian angel. A really pissed off guardian angel, mind you..."

Virginia blushed a tiny bit. _So he was taking care of me all this time? I knew it!_

"Wow, that was...nice of him!" Virginia stammered out, trying to keep her voice steady.

"That wasn't nice of him, Ginny...that was _unlike _him!" Gallows said. He walked off outside. "I guess people do crazy things when they're in love!" he said before getting out.

Virginia placed her hand on her face. It felt hot. Clive looked at the way she acted and he grinned. "Well, it is true. Jet has feelings for you, and you cannot deny it."

All Virginia did was look outside, her eyes widening and her blush deepening. Forgetting her way of acting, she turned to the sniper. "Wait, we're ready to leave, right?"

Clive nodded. Virginia thought for a bit. "How about we head towards Boot Hill? I want to visit there for a while."

Clive nodded again. " Whenever you're ready, leader."

He walked out, and just as he left Jet walked in. This made Virginia's face go tomato-red.

"Umm, we're leaving right now, so you need to get ready now, okay?" Virginia blurted out, the kiss still on her mind. She made to leave the house.

The most surprising thing happened. Jet immediately grabbed her hand and made her face him. Virginia was startled by this action. As soon as that happened, she felt something soft placed of her lips. It was Jet's lips locking into hers! That made her face go into an impossible shade of red. The kiss felt good, and Virginia automatically closed her eyes, enjoying his kiss. He disengaged, the kiss ending quickly. When she opened her eyes, she saw Jet giving her a true smile.

"I guess...this is my way of thanking that certain person for everything." Jet said shyly.

---------------------------------

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed that fluff, I felt that the chapter should have been all cutesy and fluffilicious. Review!

**Cloud: **(blushes) That's kind of what happened to us, huh?

**Me: (**blushes) I guess you're right.

**Sephiroth: **(stabs me) Fluff is annoying.

**Me: **Boring...(dies)

**Cloud: **(sweatdrops, then runs off to save me)


	9. Two Discoveries

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I know, it's me again. I updated, and I hope you like this chappie!!

**Cloud: **Why the tears, hon?

**Me: **I'm listening to your theme from Advent Children. Brings back memories from our adventure...

**Cloud: **Don't cry, it's all in the past...(hugs)

**Me: **Okay, I'm better now...(big smile) On with the story!

**Cloud: **You forgot about the warning...

**Me: **Oh, yeah. A part of the chapter is a bit suggestive, so if you are reading it, beware!! Just kidding, be ready for a lot of fluff, though. And some suggestivity!

**Disclaimer: **(holds Holy materia at the ready) You should know by now...

----------------------------------

_Oh...my...god...he kissed me?!?!_

That was the thought that raced through Virginia's head as she stared at the silver-haired Drifter. His amethyst eyes bore right into her, temporarily freezing her in place. She trembled a bit. Jet reached for her, holding her hand gently but firmly. They stood there for endless moments, Jet holding her hand while Virginia just thought about what happened. Virginia blushed at the kiss. Jet smiled, to her surprise.

"I...I think that you, er, took my advice, huh?" Virginia murmured, and then procceeded to look at the floor to avoid looking at Jet's purple orbs.

"I have. I...actually don't know what made me do that, though." Jet said, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. Virginia smiled too.

"You followed your instincts as usual. Except, well...those instincts were very..._geared _towards the closeness of the other person." Virginia said. She then began to walk out of the house. "Uh, we need to leave to Boot Hill, I want to visit my family for a while."

"I know," Jet said to the maiden. "I'll just get my stuff then." Virginia then saw Jet heading towards the bedroom. Virginia was the one dazed now. Her forefinger touched her lips where Jet placed his own. A tingle was there, and Virginia couldn't quite explain what she felt at the moment. Jet kissed her. No, wait a moment. A new Jet, changed by the kind words of hers, kissed her. How romantic was that?

_What did I tell you? Jet loves you. _Raftina rang out, almost imitating Celisdue.

Virginia didn't respond.

_Now, let's see...the next step..._ Raftina said softly, then she paused.

_What next step?!?! _Virginia asked nervously. A chuckle echoed in her mind.

_You'll see! _Raftina said playfully.

_Wait, the next step with Jet?!?! _Virginia squeaked out. _Come on, Raftina, don't do this!!_

No answer.

"This...is not good." Virginia whispered to herself. She shook her head slightly for a moment, and proceeded to leave the Carradine residence. Just what is the next step for Jet and her that Raftina wants to do?

"Virginia, wait!" said a voice suddenly. Virginia turned to find Halle walking towards her. Halle had a look of urgency on her face. Halle grabbed Virginia's hand in a somewhat forceful grip. "I need to speak with you. Now!"

"O-okay." Virginia replied weakly. Halle then began to lead her to the altar on the inside of the cliff. Halle lead her to the end of the cave where the mural of the "Blue Menace" was held.

"Virginia, I know you're hiding something." Halle said quietly and urgently. "I took care of you while you were in a coma. I began to examine you to see what caused your ailment. It was a poisonous plant, ground up in your food." Halle peered into Virginia's eyes. Virginia's eyes widened._ She knows._

"Well, thank you for letting me know, and...and I must be going now." Virginia stammered a bit, and she attempted to walk away, but Halle's grip on her hand didn't falter.

"The poisonous plant was very deadly to _normal_ people," Halle continued. "but you lived. I was curious about the coma you got into. At first, I thought you were one lucky girl to survive the poison and lived to tell the tale. But then I thought...why is she alive? There needed to be a more clear explanation for your survival."

"Halle, please, I _really_ need to go." Virginia said, her voice holding a bit of fear.

"Virginia, I studied the plant's ways off killing from old Baskar documents, and the only ones that survived were..."

Virginia gave an almighty wrench of her arm and got free from Halle's grip. "Please!! Don't continue, I must go!!" Virginia cried. She began to bolt away to the exit until Halle appeared in front of her. Virginia gulped. _Gallows wasn't kidding about Halle's strength, she walked right in front of me!_

"You're a Shaman, aren't you?" Halle asked. Virginia froze. A few moments of icy silence.

"I'm not a Shaman." Virginia said, her body trembling. Halle shook her head vigoriously.

"I'm no fool, you survived a poison that killed people and not Shamans!" Halle nearly shouted. Virginia still trembled.

"And...what are you going to do about it?" the maiden asked quietly. Halle, much to her relief, smiled.

"Nothing!! We Baskars have believed that our brothers the Shaman died out!" Halle said happily.

"I...I thought that you...were going to..." Virginia began.

"Kill you?" Halle laughed. "My dear, why would we kill you? I did hear about the hunts for the remaining Shamans, but us Baskars have denied any hunts. We knew about the scandal thousands of years back, when the people blamed the Shamans for the great war and about demon summoning. And we also knew the truth. You were innocent of the whole thing, and Baskars protected you from these lies. And now, thousands of years later, I find one of our saviors." Halle nearly went to tears.

"Halle...I am sorry to say this, but...I am the last Shaman." Virginia said. Halle wiped her eyes.

"I knew as much. The village was a refuge for Shamans, and a couple of years back many Shamans came here for protection. I remember many of them, especially a kind person by the name of...let's see, let me remember...Oh, yes. Ekatrina."

Virginia was surprised. Her voice got stuck to her mouth, and was unable to speak. _Mom?!?!_

"Ekatrina was the nicest girl I met." Halle reminisced. "Also the prettiest. She was around fourteen years old when I met her. She was one of the survivors of a fire in her hometown Claiborne. Her mom Celeste, another pretty thing, was Ekatrina's mother. A few others were with her. Some people who suspected that they were Shamans burned down their houses, and unluckily the other houses caught fire and burned the village down. Oh, what am I saying, that was a long time ago!! Well, I'm sorry about your plight. The last Shaman, huh?"

"Halle, about Ekatrina...she was my mom." Virginia said with pride. Halle gasped.

"Ekatrina's your mother?!?! Well I'll be...what happened to her?"

"Mom died."

"Ohh...poor thing.Why?"

Virginia froze. "She died of sadness when Daddy left her."

"I'm very sorry for what happened to you, Virginia. Forgive me for asking such a question."

"Halle, one other thing. Why were you surprised that I was a Shaman?"

"Well...I knew there was something special about you. I _sensed _something that I coudn't quite explain. I noticed a few things, like you being able to summon mediums with ease. You had abilities that Baskars possessed. I wondered, but I dismissed the thought. And now that you turn out to be a Shaman, it makes me feel comforted, almost happy, that one who loves the planet and the Guardians is still alive."

Virginia smiled. "I'll go now, Halle. Oh, and please don't tell anyone of this secret."

Halle smiled back. "Don't be silly dear, of course I won't! One more thing, though. The planet's acting very funny lately. I noticed it just now, and it discomforts me. Try to find out about this, okay?"

Virginia left, not wanting to tell Halle the reason why the planet was like this.

--------------------------------------------------

Jet already packed his things. All he had in his possession was his Airget-lamh and his Gella. Nothing more, nothing less. He left the bedroom, yawning a bit since it was around five o clock right now. He began to think. _Why did I kiss her? I know I like her, but she just froze and acted a bit awkward. I hope it didn't offend her or anything._

He left the house, and just as he got out, he saw Virginia leaving the cave altar, looking a bit...glum? Scared? Jet immediately went to Virginia.

"Virginia." Jet said. "What happened?"

She looked at him with a smile on her face. "Nothing's wrong!"

Jet frowned. "I saw you looking a bit frightened or something. What happened?"

Virginia pouted cutely. "Hey, when I say nothing is wrong, I mean it!"

Jet looked into her eyes, determined to find a lie in her logic. Virginia stared back, the silly smile still on her face. Jet sighed. _I guess nothing's wrong, then..._

"Oh, Virginia, I want to ask you something. I...I'm sorry about the kiss. I hope it didn't...well, traumatize you."

Virginia's face grew teary-eyed. _Oh, shit._

"Why did you do that?" Virginia whimpered. Jet looked at the floor with shame.

"It was impulse! Damn it, it was my instincts! Something made me kiss you, and I'm sorry!" Jet said in a frustrated voice. Virginia walked away, and Jet heard sniffling while she walked away. Jet was frozen in place, shocked that a measley kiss would have made such an impact on the poor Drifter girl. He watched her walk away. Little did he know that Virginia was silently giggling to herself as she made her way to Lombardia.

_Damn, now I have to watch myself while around her! I didn't know I could be **this **mean..._

Jet snarled, now knowing that he has to watch himself around the girl. Making his way to Lombardia, he saw Clive and Gallows scratching their necks.

"Uh, punk, why's the leader look like she wants to crack up?" Gallows asked in a bemused voice. Jet got confused. _Wha..._

"Virginia seemed entertained with something. I thought you might have known something." said Clive in his professor's tone.

"Entertained, huh?" Jet muttered, his fists clenching. _So the kiss didn't do anything, right? She thought she would pull the wool over my eyes...She'll see...I'll make sure to traumatize her with another kiss, see how she likes that..._

"Jet, are you all right?" Clive asked. Jet scoffed.

"I'm alright, I think I know why she was laughing like that." Jet growled. He stomped his way into the entrance of Lombardia, seeking the girl who toyed with his feelings.

"From the looks of it, Virginia did something to the punk, and he's pissed." Gallows surmised. Then he cracked a big grin. "You want to watch, Clive?"

Clive shrugged. "Well, at least we'll keep an eye on what's happening. We will intervene if something happens."

Gallows rolled his eyes as he entered the dragon. "Right, intervene..."

----------------------------------------------------

Virginia was trying to hold back her tears of mirth, silently shaking with laughter. _I'll pay dearly for this fun, but man was that funny!!_

_"So you think that you can play with his feelings?" _Raftina said telepathically to Virginia.

_It was only for today!_ Virginia retorted.

_"Virginia, wait and see. I'll make sure you 'regret' what you did to the poor kid."_

_Regret..? What are you planning?_

_"Something...daring."_

_Daring...in what way?!?!_

_"In a few moments, you will see."_

Virginia headed to one of the rooms inside Lombardia. It was simple, really. It consisted of a wardrobe and a bed. Virginia went in front of the bed and began to think: _What's the worst Raftina can do to me concerning Jet? _Lombardia trembled violently and a light felling washed over Virginia as the trembling subsided. Lombardia took flight.

Just as soon as she began to think the door burst open and an angry Jet Enduro stormed in. He slammed the door shut and locked it. Virginia trembled a bit. She knew that he found out about her play, and now he wanted to get down to business.

Their eyes made contact. Purple met blue as Virginia and Jet bore into each other with their eyes.

"Why'd you do it?" Jet growled.

"I only wanted to play." Virginia replied. He walked towards her, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Why did you toy with my feelings?!?! It wasn't funny!"

"I didn't mean for it to come out as cruel! Like I said, I wanted to play! Nothing more."

"That was low, Virginia._ Low_. And you're the compassionate one!"

"Well, sorry for a moment of fun. That was once, and I have to face that from you 24/7. And _that's_ no fun."

"I thought you would have gotten used to it, o sweet one!"

"Do you know how hard it is to speak to you when you turn my words into sarcasm or human weakness? I try and I try, but you seem to enjoy playing with my feelings!"

"I don't. I like making you as mad as hell."

"There! You see?!?! This is exactly what I mean. I try to bond with you, and all you do is make fun of it. That's it!"

"What's it?"

"I...I give up. A year of continuous trying and I seem to not have made any apparent changes."

"Don't you remember our conversation? You _did_ change me."

"All I wanted was for you to lower your defences down. I would never hurt your feeelings, and I would never ridicule you. You act like the tough guy, but I think that's your cover for who you really are."

He was silent.

"I only wanted to spend time with you, talk to you, do things with you...and all you did was push me away! I felt many things at once, and yet I still tried to talk and coax you to stop being the tough man. Many times I nearly gave up, yet I kept trying. Now I know I failed. You changed, and you are determined to keep yourself locked behind a cold person. I...wanted to say something to you, and I wanted you to hear it when you were kind and caring. And..."

Virginia's throat clenched tight, and she couldn't say anymore. She marched towards the exit of the bedroom. It wasn't like this determined girl to give up, but she did. She was nearly out when Jet stopped her by grabbing her arm forcefully.

"What did you want to tell me?!?!" Jet said urgently.

"Didn't you hear me? I give up." Virginia struggled to say, tears soaking her and her lip and voice trembling. Jet grabbed her other arm and forced her to face him. He dragged her inside the bedroom, still angry at the sad excuse she gave him.

"Don't give me any of this 'I give up' crap! I want to listen to what you wanted to say to me."

"Let go of me!"

"Tell me!"

"Why do you want to hear it so badly!?!?"

"Damn, you made me regret doing those things to you!"

"Made you regret..?"

"Remember that I told you that I wanted to change for you, show that you did change almost everything about me? I cared more about my stupid image instead of your feelings. Every day you do something cute, and I want to join in, but I didn't want to look like a mama's boy! I pushed you away to resist temptation, to resist doing something wonderful with you. All for keeping the image of the lone Drifter Enduro!"

"That's the reason for my suffering? Your image?!?!"

"Dammit! I'm sorry Virginia!"

_Part two is now up! _Raftina's voice gushed out in Virginia's mind.

_Part two!?!? _

Before Virginia could say anything, before she could react to Raftina's words, Jet kissed her with strength and passion. Virginia's eyes widened. Jet pulled her in closer, his hands still in possession of her arms. Virginia struggled to break free, but a part of her told her that she really didn't want to break the kiss. His lips were feather soft, and his grip was fierce and possessive, almost like if he was claiming her for his own. Virginia blushed at the thought, but the many feelings she felt right now washed away any thought. His breath was warm on her face, his lips pressing against hers as he slowly began to lead her somewhere.

It was a lopsided waltz, it seemed. Both still enraptured with each other's kiss, they began to turn as though they were dancing. Except this wasn't dancing. Virginia's eyes, which were now closed, were welling up with tears of triumph and love. Virginia felt herself falling, and her body made contact with something soft on her back. The bed.

Virginia now felt uncomfortable, feeling Jet's weight on top of her, the warmth of his body engulfing her sweetly. Jet stopped kissing her and then looked at her. The message was clear. _Is this okay with you? _

Virginia smiled, and placed her hands behind his neck, pulling him in for another passionate kiss. Jet's arms dug under her and hugged her back. Virginia's breathing became shallow, torrents of feelings flooding her as Jet's hands massaged her back, making her tingle with pleasure. Jet dipped his head to the side of her neck, kissing her slowly near the vein that pulsated quickly almost below the side of her chin. Virginia moaned softly, and she squirmed under Jet, his weight still pressing her into the bed. Before she knew it, Jet's arms moved from her back to her jacket, and he removed it quickly. Virginia now felt exilharated, knowing what will happen, wanting what will happen.

"I love you," Jet whispered to Virginia's ear. She began to tear up again with happiness, and she began to take off his poncho, leaving his black shirt out in the open. The couple were about to declare their love.

----------------------------------------

"Clive, do you hear anything?" Gallows asked, pressing his ear to the door. Clive leaned towards the door and nodded.

"There seems to be crying and some creaking sounds," he said.

"Dammit, Jet's punishing the poor girl!" Gallows said fiercely. Clive shrugged.

"She must have done something bad. Guardians know she might deserve what she's getting."

"**There seems to be a problem on land.**" Lombardia boomed. Clive and Gallows were instantly on the alert.

"What's happening?" Gallows asked.

"**There are people mounting cannons and are aiming it at us.**"

"Cannons?" Clive repeated. "This is strange...how do they look like?"

"**The are wearing a white uniform and have ARM replicas by their side.**"

"Oh, shit..." Gallows said blankly.

Clive immediately ran and seated himself on the front of the control board. "Lombardia, I want you to fly away from our destination of Boot Hill!! Flee!"

"**As you command.**"

As soon as Clive said that order, an exploding soung and fierce trembling made contact with the dragon. They were hit.

---------------------------------------

The couple, still enjoying each other's embrace, were suddenly interrupted by the dragon suddenly tipping to one side. They fell off the bed, and Jet grew pissed right away.

"Damn, what happened?" Jet asked, rubbing his head where the floor made contact with.

Virginia was rubbing the side of her leg, and she too began to question what happened. "I'm not sure, but we need to get out and ask Clive and Gallows."

They both immediately began to put on the clothes they removed from each other, and the ran to the control room of Lombardia. Gallows immediately walked towards them.

"Leader, this is bad. The damn Arkists found us!"

"What?!?!" Virginia exclaimed.

"They already made a direct hit on Lombardia! We need to escape somewhere else!" Clive shouted, still checking the dragon's vitals with the computer. Virginia nodded and was now ready for action.

"Lombardia, head to the nearest mountains, that should provide some cover!" Virginia shouted, taking her seat near the control place.

"**Negative. They must have foretold our course of action. They are also positioned on the mountains.**"

"Just fly somewhere else. And fly as fast as you can!" Jet roared out.

"**Negative. The enemy hit one of my wings, and quicker flight is not possible.**"

"What can we do?!?!" Gallows said loudly.

"**The only course of action is to fight back.**"

"We can't fight back, that will provoke them!" Virginia said to the dragon.

"**Enemy shot fired!**"

A whooshing sound was heard outside, and another forceful explosion and trembling met Lombardia. The gang was knocked to the left side of the dragon when the right side tilted up.

"**Warning! Enemy fire hit the other wing. We are now losing height! Prepare for contact!**"

Lombardia began to tilt forwards, and its fall began to pick up speed. The gang screamed as Lombardia descended to its doom. Uncosciously, Jet and Virginia joined hands and began to say their prayers, shaking with fear.

------------------------------------

**Author's Note: **HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Cliffhanger!! If you review, I'll update this as soon as possible!!

**Me: **Yay for the romance!

**Cloud: **You love romance a little too much, Aeris.

**Me:** Is that a bad thing?

**Cloud: **No. I personally like action better.

**Me: **That's cuz you're a guy.

**Sephiroth: **Not all men like action.

**Me: **Okay then Sephy, what do you like?

**Sephiroth: **(stabs me) Drama.

**Me: **I should have known...(dies)

**Cloud: **People raise your hands if you want Sephiroth to stop stabbing the authoress. I'm sick and tired of having her taken away from me. (runs off to save me)

**Sephiroth: **(shrugs, hums One-Winged Angel)


	10. Revealment

**Author's Note: **School is so boring, I updated, and hi!

**Cloud: **And what happened this time?

**Me:** I finally find people who actually give a damn about my dying.

**Cloud: **I care.

**Me: **Yay! (gives Cloud kiss) Which reminds me...

**Cloud: **Still working on the lemon chapter and the musi...

**Me: **Shush!! (turns to people) Ignore him!! Oh, and I placed the postponed signs because the new chapters I wrote for the fics were deleted. And I think I know why...

**Cloud: **(sweatdrops) On with the story, eh? (bigger sweatdrop) Now I'm turning like you!!

**Disclaimer: **Too bored to type it...and you should know.

-----------------------------

They screamed as the dragon began to plummet violently, holding on to anything so they can steady themselves. Virginia panicked. The comforting hand of Jet squeezed hers tightly. She didn't even know about the subconscious action of Jet holding her. Virginia saw her comrades freaking out and screaming, and she knew she had to do something.

"**10,000 feet altitude before contact.**"

_Virginia!! _Raftina shouted telepathically.

_What?!?! _Virginia screamed fearfully.

_Use your powers!! Save them! Save yourself!!_

_But...the secret!!_

_Forget the secret, use it!!_

_Oh Guardians, allright!! I'll use Celisdue!!_

Virginia placed her hands in prayer and began to chant strangely. The gang, still scared out of their minds, looked at the source of the strange chanting. Their eyes widened even more than what they were already. Virginia kept chanting in a strange tongue, and she began to glow white. Lights began to sparkle in random places around her, and the little lights began to touch Virginia. More lights appeared before her.

"**8,000 feet altitude before contact.**"

The medium also began to glow in responce to Virginia's prayer, and the chanting went faster. Virginia was now a glowing entity. She opened her eyes which were a blinding white and looked at her friends. She clicked her tongue. A blinding flash of light filled the dragon's insides and her friends shielded themselves from it. A moment later, the light died. The gang looked, and an astonishing sight greeted them.

"**6,000 feet altitude before contact.**"

Virginia wasn't wearing her Baskar clothes. She was wearing a deep purple dress, and a translucent pink sash adorned her body. She reminded them of...Celisdue?!?!

"Virginia..?" Gallows croaked out. Clive merely stared with his mouth opened, and Jet regarded her seriously.

She immediately phased through the dragon and flew outside. The vast wasteland met her sight immediately. The power of Celisdue filled her. The dragon still kept falling, but Virginia already knew what to do. She raised her hand towards the dragon and focused her power on it, her eyes glowing a dark blue. The strength of the moon was at her fingertips, and the power of gravity was in possession.

"**4,000 feet altitude before contact.**"

--------------------------------

"What the hell is _that?!?!_"

"You mean..._who _the hell is that."

"Well..!"

"The Shaman emerged. Her powers...they're astounding. I'm impressed."

"W-whatever! Fire at the girl!! Don't let her use her strength!!"

"Idiot, you're underestimating her..."

"FIRE!!!"

----------------------------------

"**2,000 feet altitude before contact.**"

"W-wha..?" Clive said weakly, staring at the transformed maiden.

"She looks like Celisdue..." Gallows said in a monotone voice.

"Virginia?" said Jet softly. _What's up with her...and how in the hell did she do that?_

Clive jerked his eyes towards the screen and blanched at what he saw. "They are firing more missiles!"

"No!" shouted Gallows, banging the window that showed the strange girl. "Ginny, look out!"

"VIRGINIA!" screamed Jet, and looked helplessly at the girl who stared at them with her hand emmiting a soft white light.

-----------------------------------

Virginia released her power that she gathered in the palm of her hand. Celisdue, who controlled the moon and the law of gravity, was a right choice for her. She reversed the law of gravity around the dragon, and it immediately slowed down. The dragon stopped descending and was levitating in midair. Virginia heard missiles from the bottom, and she quickly reacted. Using her left hand, she also reversed the law of gravity with the bullets, and the items too stopped midway of their course. She jerked her hand downwards and the bullets followed what her hand did; they flew downwards with great force. Still holding the dragon with her power, she began to fly away towards the horizon, taking her friends with her at a fast pace.

-------------------------------------

"Dammit, she escaped!! We must follow!"

"Dimwit, can't you see? We can't follow the Shaman, she's going over the mountains, see?"

"So..."

"What _can _we do? Post the picture of the Drifter girl around the villages, warn them about her heritage. The old fear of Shamans will keep that meddlesome group in check."

-----------------------------------------

Already over the mountainous terrain, Virginia kept her course towards the horizon, which already darkened to an inky black. Nighttime.

_I saved them._

_"And that's a good thing, Virginia."_

_They know._

_"They're your friends, they'll accept the fact of you being a Shaman."_

"_If they don't?"_

_"..."_

_-------------------------------------_

Landing in the area near the Dissection Facility, Virginia placed the dragon carefully on the smooth sandy floor. As soon as the dragon touched the floor, Jet, Clive, and Gallows got out of the vehicle with an astounded look on their faces. Virginia looked away sadly; she didn't know what to expect.

They walked closer towards her, looking like if they were in a trance. Virginia then landed in front of them. She walked towards them, and to her dismay they flinched a bit. Except Jet, who satred right into her eyes as though he would discover what was happening just by doing that.

"Umm, hey!" Virginia said cheerfully. No responce whatsoever.

"T-that was a close one! Are you okay?" Virginia asked her flabbergasted teammates. No responce.

"Okay, then, I'll be off." Virginia shrugged, and she began to levitate towards the mountain peaks, hoping to get a responce from the fake departure.

"Wait!" Gallows said. Virginia, already midair, turned her body around to face her comrades.

"Yeah?" Virginia replied. Gallows looked angrily at her. Virginia flinched. The big Baskar swiftly made his way to her and gave her a big hug, pulling her down from the air.

"You scared me back there, don't do that again!" he said hysterically. Virginia hugged him back.

"Wait, I thought..!"

"That we were going to judge you? Discriminate you? Treat you differently?" Clive surmised. He smiled and shook his head slightly. "We're your friends Virginia. We wouldn't do that."

Virginia was exhuberant. "Thank you!"

Clive's face then wore a frown. "If you don't mind my asking...how did you do that?"

"This?" Virginia said, twirling around and showing off her clothes.

"Yeah. You look a lot like Celisdue." Gallows said. Realization struck him. "Wait a minute...I read during Baskar school that certain people were able to take on the powers of the Guardians and fuse with them."

Clive also was struck with realization. "I read in the professor's books that a race of humans were able to communicate with the planet a lot better than Baskars, and use the powers of the Guardians in many ways. I think they were called Shamans."

"Really?!?! I didn't know about that!" Virginia piped up, giggling nervously amd rubbing her arm.

"You're lying, Virginia."

Jet walked up to her so they were face to face. He bored on her.

"What do you mean?" Virginia asked softly.

"Apart of the scene that you just did of acting innocent, I am able to recognize when you lie or not. And you have been lying a lot ever since last week or so. Spill the beans. Do you know what a Shaman is?"

Virginia bowed her head. "Yes, I do." She looked at her surprised comrades. "I...am a Shaman."

Complete silence.

"Ginny...do you know what you are saying?" Gallows said weakly.

"Shamans died out a long time ago, Virginia. You can't be one. Unless this is a power from the Ark Scepter..."

"No, I'm a Shaman by birth. My mother was one. She was one of the few Shamans that still lived. There was a small number that lived in Baskar, and they dispersed when people who hunted us down found out about their whereabouts. My mom was the only escapee." Virginia trembled. "People believed that they vanquished the Shaman race and stopped looking for them, satisfied that they were dead. Mom had to keep her gifts under wraps. When I was born, she had to face a difficult choice: either to raise me like a normal child and let the Shaman race go undiscovered yet untrained with their arts, or teach me my abilities and give me the burden of a feared race. She chose the latter, and as you can see, this is one of my gifts. Oh! Which reminds me..."

Virginia closed her eyes and began to chant again in a strange tongue, and the lights seemed to escape her body. Some of the lights disappeared into the sky while the other lights returned to the Dark medium. Virginia's Guardian clothes disappeared and she now wore the Baskar clothing.

"Whew! I'm beat...these powers tax my mind a bit. I trained with my mom until I was seven years old, and the rest that I didn't learn from her I had to learn from the Guardians or books. This is the first time I used fusion in ten years." Virginia said casually. She slumped on the floor, wiping the sweat from her face.

"So our leader was a Shaman all this time..." Gallows whistled. "Damn, you can do a lot of things then! And I felt important because I was a half Baskar priest. I thought I was your only link to Guardians, except for the Ark Scepter."

"No, Gallows, don't say you were useless!" Virginia cried. "You unknowingly provided a cover for me! All I had to do was pretend I had the same abilities as you through the help of the Ark Scepter. So...please don't say that."

"Then you are the last of your race?" Clive asked Virginia. She nodded.

"I'm afraid, though. I need to take care of myself. If I die, the race of the Shamans will end." Virginia said sadly.

"Heh, there's a solution for that! Make Jet help you, there's a surefire way to keep your race preserved! It involves a bed and snuggling..."

Virginia whacked him with her dual pistols. "Sicko!"

Jet went as red as a cherry. "Oaf!"

"Gallows, take your head out of the gutter, that's not a proper way to talk to a lady." Clive said. Gallows rubbed his head sheepishly.

"It's a good idea! Unless you can ask Santa Claus for a Shaman baby..."

While Gallows bickered, Virginia's eyes met Jet's. The thought of what they were going to do on Lombardia came up to mind, and Virginia blushed a bit. She noticed Jet do the same; she knew he was thinking of that too.

"You see, Clive? They're thinking of ways to, err, _properly _do the job, see?" Gallows inquired slyly. Virginia then cast Sleep on Gallows with the help of the medium. Jet grinned.

"Good thinking." he said. He then began to drag Gallows towards a small rock place near the dragon and left him there. He came back and gathered some wood. "We'll set up camp here."

"Okay!" Virginia heartily agreed, and she began to search the area for some herbs to cook. Clive searched for more wood to burn.

---------------------------

The campfire was warm and burned merrily. The three sat around the fire, and they enjoyed the meal prepared by Virginia. She was easily the best cook of the bunch, followed by Clive, Jet, and lastly, Gallows. She cooked the usual thing, which was eggs and bacon. The delicious aroma pervaded their site, and the two men nearly drooled from the sight of the food.

Virginia blushed. "Stop, my cooking isn't that good anyways..."

"Don't say that." Jet objected. Virginia blushed deeply, and went on about serving some food to the hungry men. She placed a plate in front of Gallows, just in case he woke up.

"Well, then, let's eat!" Clive said in a happy voice. The three then began to eat. The food, as usual, was delicious. The food nearly melted in their mouths, and the flavors from the ingredients burst in their mouths.

"That wasn't nice, Virginia." Gallows muttered. He was also eating. Virginia giggled.

"Well, what could I have done to stop you from making those comments?" Virginia replied. She yawned and stretched. "We need to rest, I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Good night, everyone!"

She immediately lay down on the floor and drifted to sleep. The three others followed suit and lay down to sleep. Clive went to sleep first, and then Gallows. Jet, however, remained awake. Right after the other two went to sleep, he went towards Virginia's place and lay next to her, placing her head over his arm and using his other arm to lock on to her waist and bring her closer to his body to keep her warm. Her face nuzzled his strong chest softly, and she snuggled a bit closer to him. Jet smiled. So long as Virginia was still alive he will protect her and help her in the smallest of ways, right now being to keep her warm.

"Sweet dreams." Jet whispered softly, and he slept with Virginia wrapped in his arms.

-------------------------------------

"We won't reach over the mountains in time. We must wait until tomorrow."

"I know. That's why I made a new plan."

"Hello, are you the leader?"

"Yes. Did you bring more information about the girl?"

"Yes."

"Good. Tell me everything you know. And you...start the plan. It's time."

------------------------------------

**Author's Note: **Hope you like the chappie, review, all that jazz...

**Me: **Shorter chapter, but update will come soon! Right now I'm training for the championships for marching band, neeed to take care of my flute and everything...

**Cloud: **Okay, go to sleep!

**Me: **(goes to sleep) Hmmm...Jet-kun...Cloud-kun...

**Cloud: **(sweatdrops)

**Sephiroth: **Good night! (sleeps with Mother plushie)

**Cloud: **What's up with the world..?


	11. A Freak Earthquake

**Author's Note: **Updated again, and I LOVE CLOUD!!

**Cloud: **You really don't have to shout it out to the world, you know...

**Me: **But I do want to say it to the world. And I also want to say...Teefa and Co. and Black Rainy rox my damn sox!! Squee!! And narukaze is also a fellow Jet-kun fan!!!! Yay!

**Kadaj: **You're congratulating the people who ripped me apart with a tiger person. (stares accusingly at Teefa and Co.)

**Me: **And what?!?! Go to Sephiroth and kiss his ass, pussy! (sticks tongue)

**Kadaj: **WAHHH! (runs away crying)

**Cloud: **Now that's what I'm talking about!! I love tough chicks!! (hugs me)

**Me: **Squee!! Love ya, Cloud!! (hugs him back!)

**Disclaimer: **Repeat after me..."I already know." Nuff said.

---------------------------------

_**Eight days to go...**_

Giggling. Virginia stirred from her sleep. The snickers woke her up, and her eyes fluttered. Last night was cold, and then someone wrapped something warm around her. She felt very comfortable with the warmth of the thing that wrapped her around the waist. More giggling.

"What's up?" Virginia yawned out. Her eyes widened when she saw a black shirt in front of her. Her eyes traveled up from the sight of the muscular chest to a face right above hers. Jet. Virginia's eyes widened.

"Wow, I guess you took my advice, eh?" Gallows chortled. He bent over Virginia's head with a goofy grin on his face. "So how was it? Did you do it behind Lombardia? Or inside the Dissection Facility?"

Virginia sprang up from her sleeping position and faced Gallows. "PERVERT!!" she screamed, and whacked him yet again with her dual pistols. Jet immediately woke up from the sudden movement made by the Drifter girl. A puzzled expression overtook the man's face when he saw Virginia whacking the large Baskar with her guns.

"What did he say, Ginny?" Jet asked with a faint tone of amusement. Gallows immediately brightened up.

"See? He's already calling you by your nickname!! Bet you that's what he repeated when you were..!"

Jet used his Accelerator and began to beat the man's stomach. "What the hell, stupid priest?!?! Sick bastard!"

"Mercy, mercy!! No more!!!" Gallows whimpered pitifully. He fell flat on his face and shielded his face with his arms. "I give!! I'm sorry!! No more!!"

"That's what I wanted to hear, sicko." Virginia said sweetly. She placed her ARMs back in their holsters, and walked towards Lombardia. "How are you feeling?"

"**Much better, brave soul.**" Lombardia replied. "**We can leave when thou wants to.**"

"We are near Boot Hill, so we'll head there. I really want to speak with my aunt and uncle. It's been a long time." Virginia said slowly. She turned to her comrades. "Do you want to do this?"

"It's fine with me." Jet agreed right away. Gallows almost smiled at this, but a warning glance from Virginia quieted him down.

"I'm up for it!" Gallows said cheerfully, stretching his body.

"What is the matter? What are we agreeing on?" murmured Clive sleepily. Virginia smiled.

"I wanted to visit my aunt and uncle for a while, so I am asking you guys if you want to do this." she explained.

"I'm game." Clive answered, and he began to walk towards Lombardia. Gallows and Jet began to do the same. Virginia smiled. Her buddies. So dependable. She ran towards her friends and entered Lombardia. Little did she know something was going to happen soon.

------------------------------

Unsettling. Odd. Disturbing. The hinky feelings that Jet felt when his instincts told him there was going to be trouble. Jet frowned when he looked towards the small speck just over the fields behind the mountains that was Boot Hill. He didn't tell his comrades. Guardians knows that his instincts may prove him false. Jet sat down on one of the chairs right in front of the computer screen. His seat was to the right of Virginia's seat which was right in front of the computer controls. It was strange; when they were after Siegfried, they sat next to each other with no feeling or sense of awkwardness. Just business. Now, as he sat by her, he felt happy, tingly, the feelings you get when you were near someone special. Virginia, of course, was energetic, happily commanding the dragon to head near that small speck that was Boot Hill.

"Can't wait to talk to my friends!" Virginia squealed, nearly standing up from her seat as she saw the approaching village. Jet's frown deepened a bit. The Arkists couldn't have gotten too far yesterday. Maybe they were hiding somewhere nearby. Or they were planning to do something else.

"Jet, you okay?" Virginia asked, seeing his frown. Jet shrugged. Whatever. Maybe it was just that: a feeling.

"Nothing." he replied. Virginia grinned.

"Well, if you don't wanna see my folks, then you didn't have to agree." Virginia said playfully.

"No, I want to visit them with you." Jet said.

"Then why the frown, Jet?" Virginia asked, playfully flicking the tip of his nose. Jet's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, that hurt!" Jet scolded at her, rubbing his nose. Virginia giggled.

"Okay Jet, be that way!" she said, and resumed watching the screen to see her beloved village. Jet smiled. That girl sure is weird, but that's what he liked about her. She wasn't some pretty girl whose looks outweighed her brains, or some conceited spoiled brat. She is pretty, yet considerate of others. She is smart, and she used her knowledge to help people out. She wasn't spoiled; she did most of the carrying of their goods or had to plan their course of action almost all night. She is just...perfect.

"**We have arrived, small ones.**" Lombardia announced. Virginia literally jumped for joy.

"Yay!" she shouted gleefully. Jet and the rest of the gang stared at her with a strange look on their faces.

"Um, Virginia, it's not like the end of the world is going to happen soon! You have plenty of time to see your familiars, so why the energy?" Gallows asked. Jet saw it. The cloud of pain, the sad look on her face. He immediately rushed to her side, placing his arm gently on her shoulder.

"Virginia, what's wrong?" he asked with concern. Virginia looked stony-faced, but then she brightened up.

"Nothing, it was what Gallows said. I love my family, you can't blame me for wanting to see them." Virginia muttered sadly. That got Jet riled up quickly.

"Gallows, why'd you say that?" he asked angrily. Gallows looked stumped at Virginia's change of mood.

"I didn't mean to offend her, I wanted to know why this visit is different than the others." Gallows explained. Jet just gave a growl, and turned towards the maiden. To his surprise, she was already out of Lombardia and making her way towards Boot Hill. Jet just stared in amazement, and shrugged. Wow, the girl has a lot of energy. He also got out after Clive and Gallows did, and also begun to run towards the honey-haired girl, wanting to keep her in his sight.

------------------------------------

Jet didn't tire of running with the maiden towards her home village. Virginia learned that in a heartbeat as she kept running towards the village. _Um, Virginia, it's not like the end of the world is going to happen soon! You have plenty of time to see your familiars, so why the energy?_ That quote stung her a bit, reminding her that she only had eight days to live and save the planet. Of course, she was supposed to cover it up and act like nothing was happening, yet the feeling of dread ate her away. Virginia was determined to visit as many friends as possible. After that, she won't have any regrets when she will willingly give her life up.

"Why'd we land so far from the village anyways?" Virginia huffed, still running towards Boot Hill.

"Because you made it land so far away, Ginny." Jet answered, his voice sounding forced.

"Just a few more steps..." Virginia told herself. Just like that, Virginia made it to the entrance of her beloved hometown.

Villagers either smiled or began to run towards Virginia.

"Hey, long time, no see!"

"How's everything, Virginia?"

"It's good to see you came to visit!"

Virginia, bending to catch her breath, smiled at the villagers. "Hi!" Virginia said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey! What are we, chopped liver?" Gallows asked, frowning at the villagers surrounding Virginia. They also said hi to the Maxwell gang, though the reception wasn't as warm as the one they gave to Virginia. After saying their hi's, the group headed towards her house. Upon entering, Aunt Shalte received them warmly.

"Hello! It has been a long time since we last saw you." she said, hugging each of her friends. Virginia looked around.

"Auntie, where's Uncle Tesla?" Virginia asked. Shalte just frowned.

"He came down with an illness recently. Every doctor saw him, but they can't find the source of his ailment. He...is getting worse."

"What?!?! Can I see him?" Virginia pleaded.

"Yes. He's awake now, but don't talk to him much. The doctors say that conversation tire him out." Shalte warned her. Virginia nodded, and she headed to the second floor of her house. She opened the door to the spare room next to her own, and the sight of her uncle surprised her. Normally Uncle Tesla was a very tough man who can handle himself, and he didn't submit to sicknesses that easily. Now seeing him laying down on the bed looking sickly and pale made Virginia gasp a bit.

"Uncle Tesla?" Virginia gasped. He turned to her, and coughed.

"Hello, Virginia. What (cough) brings you here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'll talk to you later, you're tired!" Virginia moaned, making her way to the door. Her uncle continued coughing, but he seemed to reach out to her.

"(cough) Don't...leave! (cough) Don't mind me, it's just (cough)...a cold. What happened?" her uncle wheezed out.

Virginia bowed her head. "They know."

Tesla's eyes widened. "And?"

"Don't worry, they're okay with it! But others found out this secret too."

"The (cough) ones chasing you?"

"Yes."

"Do not worry. (cough) The villagers will protect you. The things your mother has done for our crops and blessings (cough)...aren't forgotten. I have seen what (cough) people can do to your people. I don't (cough) want that to happen to you."

Virginia shivered. The fires, the hazy smoke, people's pitiful screams...the things her mom told her what happened to the Shamans. "I know."

"Be careful, Virginia." her uncle warned. "The Arkists (cough) have recently been here (cough) asking for you. I (cough) don't like the way they look. (cough) They mean business."

"I'll leave right now!" Virginia exclaimed. "By staying here I am a threat to the village!"

"Nonsense. I said that the village will protect you." her uncle smiled. "Enjoy yourself. Relax. There is (cough) a special event going to happen..."

"The annual singing festival!" Virginia squealed. "I wanna sing!"

"I know you do." a soft voice said. Aunt Shalte walked in, her wrinkled smile aimed at Virginia. "I remember when you were three and sang all your own songs. How's your singing now?"

"Uhh, people don't enjoy them, I guess. When I want to sing, people run away. I guess I lost it."

Shalte smiled. "No. It's in your mom's family. She sang like an angel, and her mom too. Come to think of it, you sang like a lark. Maybe you don't sing as often anymore."

Virginia chuckled. "Well, I didn't lose it, then. Hopefully my old voice will come out soon, maybe." She then made to leave the room, stretching her arms a bit. "Hope you feel better, Uncle Tesla."

"Thank you (cough)!" replied her uncle, and he tucked himself in his bed with Aunt Shalte by his side.

------------------------------

He saw her walking down the stairs with the same bright cheerful smile on her face. He went to speak with her, mostly because he felt a bit bored just sitting and waiting for the maiden to come downstairs.

"How's your uncle?" Jet asked the girl.

"He's sick, but he's basically doing alright." Virginia answered. She proceeded to plant a kiss on Jet's cheek before leaving. "I need to get something from Armengard. I'll be back in a few!"

Jet blushed a bit. She just kissed him like if she did this everyday. She wasn't uncomfortable and just accepted the feelings they have towards each other. He started towards the door until a voice said slyly, "Punk, told you she loves ya. Now to proceed in sealing the deal..."

Jet just aimeda punch and knocked Gallows cold. "You need to chill, man. Give it up."

He walked around the village, taking the sight of the lush scenery and the delicious smells wafting around the area. People chattered amongst themselves as they bustled around buying food or, to Jet's curiosity, programs. The title read "SING". Obviously it was a singing contest, and anyone can sign up. Another interesting thing Jet heard was the villagers praising Virginia and her sweet voice.

"She sang like a sweetie, people always wanted her to sing."

"Her mom was a good singer too."

"I want our Virginia sing in the contest!"

Jet just grew flabbergasted. Everytime Virginia sang, it sounded like if someone slammed a door on a goat's tail. She noticed, and she stopped singing, letting Clive do all the singing; he was surprisingly good at it. And now hearing the village talking about this talent of hers...

A rumble. The floor trembled considerably strong, and the villagers began to panic. Clive appeared by Jet's side, panting slightly.

"Jet, this is bad, the whole land is shaking!" Clive huffed out.

"Why the hell's it doin' that?!?!" Jet shouted.

"Ask Virginia, she might know!" Gallows suggested in a frantic voice. Just as soon as he said that Virginia appeared too.

"Ginny, why's the land shaking?!?!" Jet asked hurriedly. He saw her face, and she seemed untroubled by what was happening.

"I don't know." Virginia said in a monotone voice. Jet frowned deeply. Lie.

"Virginia, tell us! Something's wrong, is it?"

"No! It's just an earthquake!"

"Then how in hell does an earthquake affect only the village and not another location?!?!"

"I...I don't know!!"

"Wait!!"

The trembling stopped. The gang looked around and saw that the village was unharmed. No house was damaged, no cracks on the floor...no damage at all.

"How in the hell can that happen..?" murmured Gallows slowly.

Clive just pushed his glasses up his nose. "This was no ordinary earthquake. There's another meaning to this phenomina."

"Such as..?" Jet prompted.

"A warning." Clive said.

Jet just spat on the floor and turned towards Virginia. She seemed like if she was in a trance, looking at the floor. Jet shook her by the shoulder. "Ginny?"

Virginia snapped out of her reverie. "Oh! Uhh...that was scary." she said lamely.

"**Villagers! The harm is past. It was only an earthquake, nothing more. Please stay calm. Contest will be today...**"

"Ginny?" Jet repeated. Virginia looked away. To his surprise she stalked off somewhere. He wanted to follow until a large group of people swarmed right in front of him and dashed off any attempt to follow her. Jet cursed and headed towards the graveyard. He wanted to be there to stay alone. Sulking was one thing he was best at, and he planned to do it now. He sat near Werner's tombstone, looking at the floor in thought. Something began to happen though.

He began to see things. A maiden was praying, the green grass and white flowers surrounding her. Jet wanted to get the bottom of this vision. He strode towards her. She was still shrouded in shadow. Jet still couldn't see who the person was. The maiden just sat there, clasping her hands together, head bent down slightly.

"Hey, who are you?" Jet spoke. The maiden didn't react at all. Jet was so close to her his face was right next to hers. She was a dark figure, wrapped in shadow. Nothing can be made from her face or what she wore. She was all black, only her figure shown. Jet grabbed her arm and shook her. "Something wrong?"

The maiden still didn't respond. Jet, wanting to know something, picked her up from her praying position.

The world of green and white began to wither at an amazing rate, and screams were heard. Jet, bewildered, stared at the girl. She wasn't screaming. The wails seemed to come from the planet itself. A blinding flash of light...

Jet sucked in his breath. He looked around his surroundings, instantly alert. He was back in Boot Hill, just next to Werner's grave. People walked by the gravesite, still shaken up from the earthquake. _Okay, that was weird._

"Hey, you a singer?" a man's voice asked. It was Neil. "Wait a minute, you're Jet! How are you?"

"Fine," Jet muttered, crossing his arms. For some reason he didn't want to talk to Neil.

"What's with the attitude, I'm just worried about you and your gang," Neil laughed, scratching the back of his neck. Jet smirked. The guy was nervous talking to him, he can tell. "Wow, that was some earthquake!! How's everyone?"

"If you want to know about Virginia, she's fine," Jet said in a slight cold voice. Okay, mystery solved: Jet didn't like guys with close ties to his girl. Neil gave a small sigh of relief.

"Good to hear. Ever since she left trying to accomplish her dream of being a Drifter, I always prayed for her safety. Luckily she found trusty people and she is safe." Neil explained, smiling.

"Whatever." Jet repeated with his cold tone. Neil turned to Jet with a puzzled look.

"Wow, you hate company, don't you? How did Virginia manage to stand you? She likes social people."

"...She's my..."

"Let me guess. Girlfriend?"

"How did you..?"

"Trust me, I know how a guy acts when another guy likes your girlfriend. Well, I'm Virginia's childhood friend, not her love interest, so chill out, okay?"

"Oh."

"Man, I want her to sing, she was pretty good back then...why are you chuckling?"

"Because she isn't a good singer. Her voice sounds like a dying person being continually trampled by a horse."

"Harsh...Oh, well. Catch ya later!"

"Whatever."

Neil ran off towards the wheat fields, asking more questions to ensure the people's health. Jet scoffed. _If he cares so much about them, why doesn't he marry them?_ The idea was soon pushed off. _He cares for Ginny. Don't want him marrying her..._

"Everything seems to be okay!" Virginia piped up suddenly. Jet flinched. That scared him a bit. He rolled his eyes slightly.

"Okay, good for them, but what the hell happened? What's with the freak earthquake?" Jet asked, determined to get an answer. Virginia tore away from his eyes and looked at the floor.

"I really don't know, Jet." Virginia said blankly. Jet let off an exasparated sigh.

"Come on, I traveled with you for months, I think I know how you respond to things. You lied a few moments ago? What's up with the freak earthquake?"

"Why are you so intent on knowing?!?!"

"Because!" Jet cried. " I don't want any secrecy between us! And I know something's bothering you! I want to help out!"

Virginia's blue orbs were brimming with tears. "I...really don't know."

Jet grew angry. Though he kept his temper in check, he was still very furious at her. He walked away.

"Jet...I'm sorry. It's a really important matter and, well..." Virginia whispered. Jet shut his eyes. A sniffle was heard. Footsteps left him, slowly fading away.

Jet was now by himself again next to Werner's grave. He looked at the grave, and he scoffed at it. "Your daughter's complex, old man..."

---------------------------

**Author's Note: **Please review.

**Me: **Yay, I'm finally on vacation! Oh yeah, anyways, please review. Or send emails to me. I really need to get my butt into gear.

**Cloud: **You're lazy.

**Me: **I know...that's why people need to send me review or force me with emails. I need a good kick in the rear.

**Sephiroth: **Happy to oblige. (kicks rear)

**Me: **WTF WAS THAT FOR, MORONIC ANGEL!?!?! YOU DIE NOW!!! (kills)

**Cloud: **Control temper...woo-sa, woo-sa...

**Me: **(sulks)

**Everyone: **(sweatdrop)

Songs are in next chapter, send in some suggestions for songs!!


	12. Ambush and Deaths

**Author's Note: **Super sorry for the ultra-late chappie, but I had a lot of pressing issues. Family, service and stuffs to take care of.

**Sephiroth: **The rest of us took the liberty to do what we can to update this story.

**Tifa:** I was too busy with Aeris at school concerning with a program to help out others.

**Kadaj: **As for the songs...we had to choose them. If the music is horrible, you have yourselves to think upon.

**Jet: **We made this chapter as long as possible to appease the numerous readers of this fiction. Though I still wonder why people don't review.

**Cloud: **Without further ado...

**Everyone: **Continue!!

**Disclaimer: **Nope, still don't own it. And I don't own the songs either.

----------------------

Virginia paced around her room, her mind slowly straining from the torture of lying to her love. With all of her heart, she wanted to say what was happening, to run to him for comfort from her duty for the planet. A dry sob escaped from her lips, and her shut tight brimming with tears.

_Filgaia's dying, _Raftina told her during the earthquake, _the earthquake was meant to alert you of her diminishing strength. Time is almost up._

The earthquake was a reminder of what she must do. Almost like it said 'die, or else'.

Tired of pacing, she fell on the bed, wanting to sleep. The inky black sky was beautiful, lulling her to slumber. Yet she also wanted to go outside. So many things she wanted to do, and a whirl of emotions clouding her mind. Spread-eagled on the bed, she stared at the ceiling. The singing contest was today, and she didn't want to let down her fellow townsfolk. Virginia chuckled. There is a reason why she sung so bad with her comrades. When she was a kid, she would sing to everyone, but then they got overly-excited, and kept pestering her with more suggestions for songs. They loved her singing so much, by the time the day was done, Virginia was left nearly mute. If Jet, Clive and Gallows heard her sing, then they probably wouldn't be any different from her own townsfolk.

"Virginia?" Aunt Shalte called out, her gentle knocking barely heard.

"Come in." Virginia replied, standing up. Aunt Shalte opened the door, poking her head through the small crack.

"What's wrong, dear? You've been quiet for a long time." she said gently. Virginia smiled, flashing her white teeth.

"Nothing's wrong, Auntie!" Virginia said cheerfully. She hugged her aunt. "Don't worry about me, worry about Uncle, okay?"

A frown appeared on the elder female's face. "It's not like you to be so quiet and secretive. Something's eating away at you." Aunt Shalte placed her calloused hand gently on Virginia's shoulder.

"Actually, there is something." Virginia muttered. "I have been thinking about something that makes me wonder about the aspects of my life. I had one thing in my mind all this time. A mission." A sharp intake of breath was drawn in in by the girl. "This mission was set to me, and this particular one got me thinking about what I could do with my life."

"Honey, do you know what you are saying?!?!" Aunt Shalte gasped, her hand quickly placed over her mouth. "If it is such a dangerous mission, then you shouldn't do it!"

"I cannot tell you why, but...I took on this mission out of my own free will. I had a choice, but I chose danger in hopes of helping out many, many people. It was...necessary."

"But still...why not let another do this job? Why you?" Shalte whispered.

Another dry sob forced itself from her protesting throat. "I am the only one who can."

The elder's eyes focused on the ground. "At least tell me the nature of this mission."

"It's a secret." Virginia said. "I cannot tell you."

"If it really is this important, then I won't stop you." Aunt Shalte said softly. "But please make sure you come home safe."

Virginia's eyes narrowed as she strained to keep her tears in check. How ironical. If she was successful in this mission, then she can't come home. Never. Aunt Shalte wouldn't even remember her, for crying out loud.

"Okay, I will." Virginia promised. Taking a deep breath, she willed her teary eyes away. "It's almost time for the contest."

Shalte laughed. "Oh yes! You must hurry!"

Virginia looked at her dirty Baskar clothes. "I need to change!"

Her elder chuckled. "Don't worry, I saw those unclean clothes. I prepared something for you." She led Virginia to the other room, and on one of the beds lay a beautiful white dress. Not the usual poofy ones like the girl's pink dress, but one that hugged her frame perfectly. Her face turned beet-red when she saw the simple dress. Aunt Shalte noticed that. "Don't worry, it isn't innappropiate. I think it would show you off nicely."

_That's what I'm worried about, _Virginia thought worriedly.

"Dress up, you don't have much time!" her aunt urged as she left the room. Sighing, Virginia got rid oh her dress to put on the new clothes.

-------------------------

"It's that stupid contest. Everyone is gathered at the center of town. Perfect for our plan."

"Of course, idiot. Now all we have to do is surround the town. Her life is in our hands."

"Yes sir."

-------------------------

Jet still paced the graveyard, staring at the villagers already putting the finishing touches to the stage set up near the entrance. Quite a few people turned up for the event, chatting away amiably with each other. Everyone was having a good time whereas he was in the lonely background with graves as his company.

"Hey punk!" shouted Gallows as he charged at Jet.

The android's eyes rolled as the brute ran to him. "What do you want?"

"Why aren't you with the others, it's great!" Gallows said. Jet scoffed.

"I don't want to hang around with the village idiots, thanks." he said nonchantly.

"But Virginia's gonna sing!" Gallows' eyebrow raised. "You don't want to see her mess up in public?"

"..." Jet didn't answer.

"What happened between you two?" Gallows asked.

"Do I have to frickin' confess to you or something?!?!" Jet yelled. "Drop it, oaf!"

"Sorry, just wanted to know what ticked you off!" Gallows barked at him, crossing his arms. "Sheesh!"

"Well then, leave me alone before I kick your ass!" Jet snarled, turning his back on the Baskar.

"Fine." the brute shrugged, and made his way to the town square.

Jet kicked the dirt near Werner's grave. He did want to see Virginia sing, no matter how bad she was. But her secrecy dampened his spirits greatly. Can't she trust him?

"**The contest has started!**" a voice boomed out. The soft chatter near the stage increased ten-fold, excitement in the air.

Jet shook his head. _What morons..._

_---------------------_

The dress suited her beautifully. It was a simple piece of clothing, yet it was very elegant in style. The silky fabric reached just below her knees and seemed to hug her body, outlining her curves nicely. The straps were thin, and it had a V-cut beneath her throat. Virginia looked at herself in the mirror.

_I gotta admit, this is beautiful!_ Virginia thought gleefully.

"**The contest has started!**" A voice rang throughout the town, bringing Virginia to startling reality.

"Oh no, I need to leave!" she cried, running out of her house.

Making her way down to the arena, she entered a hastily erected room for the contestants. Around twenty singers, mostly female, were chirping with enthusiasm. The girls wore extravagant clothes with vivid colorings of gold, silver, greens, and more. They had a lot of makeup on whereas Virginia had none. She liked to be natural, and seeing all the other ladies with enough makeup for Halloween made her feel uncomfortable. Why can't they show their true colors?

"Well, lookie here!" A girl said nastily, pointing at the Drifter girl. A few others giggled nastily as well, smirking at Virginia.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't a wedding, dearest." A girl hissed. Virginia stared at the gorgeous woman who said the rude comment. She had light brown eyes and ruby-red hair. She was a head taller than Virginia, making her a bit more threatening.

"I know this isn't a wedding. I'm here to sing." Virginia replied kindly.

A look of disgust appeared on the woman's face. "Don't you _dare _talk to me like that!"

"Talk like what? A lady? I'm sorry, but this is manners." Virginia responded, blue orbs sparkling dangerously.

"Manners are for the weak, little girl!" the woman said to a confused Virginia.

"Little girl...I'm far from that!" Virginia giggled.

The woman was about to strike Virginia until a voice belted out, "**Contestant number 1, please come up!**"

" That's me." the woman said smugly, staring at Virginia in a hostile way. Her fist went down to her side. "Saved by the bell." She made her way to the stage through a passageway, walking like a supermodel.

"Don't worry about her," a voice said softly. "She was like that to the others with her buddies."

"Armengard!" Virginia said happily, huigging her friend. Armengard wore a nice blue dress with gold laces. "Your clothes look good!"

"It's not any different from what I usually wear." she laughed. "But I gotta say that _your _dress looks great."

"Thank you." Virginia replied, an embarrased blush emerging on her face.

"**And now, everyone, please welcome contestant number 1. Contestant's name is Marina and she comes from the town Little Twister. You may begin!**"

"Little Twister, huh?" Virginia echoed thoughtfully. It was her turn to smirk. "I bet you she works at the brothel."

"Virginia!" Armengard scolded playfully, giggling softly.

"That was mean." a male said behind her.

"Hey Neil!" Virginia called out, making her way to her childhood friend. Neil wore a black tux with a red tie, and his haid was tied in a ponytail. "Don't you look handsome?"

"Don't let Jet hear you say that, or he'll kill me!" Neil warned, an amused twinkle in his eyes. Virginia blushed.

"What?" she whispered. Neil grinned broadly.

"You heard me. Jet got pretty protective of you when I asked about you. He thought I was your suitor or something." Neil explained.

Her face grew hotter at this news. Armengard noticed her tomato-red face. "Neil, don't tell her anything else, or she'll explode."

Cheers from the crowd stopped their talking as the gorgeous woman made her way through the contestants. "Top that." she said smugly, swishing her black dress. She got out of the room and into the crowd.

"Whoascrap, that's a hot woman..." a gruff voice purred out.

"I recognize that voice..." Virginia said slowly. She slowly turned to see...

----------------------

Jet saw the performance of the woman named Marina. His eyes narrowed. She looked like that woman who kept offering him 'company' at Little Twister. He shook his head. Sluts like her shouldn't come to such a tranquil town. Her singing was okay, Jet admittedly thought. But she was the first one up, and others might do better than her.

"Jet!" Aunt Shalte called out, heading toi the graveyard.

"What is is?" Jer replied.

"Aren't you going to the contest to see everyone?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No thanks. I hate social events."

"Hmm...okay. Well, I need to have a word with Virginia. I need to speak to her about something."

"What kind of thing?" Jet asked.

"I talked to her when she shut herself in her room. She seemed sad, and I asked her what happened. She told me about a dangerous mission and how it got her thinking about her life." Shalte explained.

Amethyst eyes widened at the news. "Dangerous mission?"

"Yes. I saw her eyes beginning to water when she began to speak about it."

"I never knew about this mission!" Jet shouted out, fists curling. It was Shalte's turn to be surprised.

"You didn't know? I thought _you_ knew about it!" she gasped.

"So that's your secret..." Jet whispered to himself slowly. _Why the hell didn't you tell me about this?!?!_

"Jet..." began Shalte, but he sprinted through the graveyard and into the crowd. Virginia definetly needed a lecture. _Especially _Jet's.

----------------------

"Gallows, what in tarnation are you doing here?!?!" Virginia asked loudly. The Baskar grinned.

"I wanted to try my singing talents, Ginny!" he said. Virginia noticed that he wore the same clothes.

"You didn't even change into something else!" Virginia said.

Gallows shrugged. "So what? It's a singing contest, not 'Who is the best dressed' pageant." retorted Gallows. He looked at the petite with admiration. "You look good, leader."

"Thanks." Virginia said.

"**Contestant number two, please come up!" **the voice rang out. Armengard squealed.

"That's me!" she squeaked, fidgeting with her hands.

"Good luck!" the trio cheered, and a nervous Armengard got out of the room and into the stage. For a few moments the room was silent. Until...

"Hey Gallows, aren't you gonna teach me on how to snag a girl?" Neil asked. "You promised me."

Gallows flinched. "Uhh..."

Virginia crossed her arms and looked at the brute with eyes that can melt a Trask. "Gallows..."

Gallows quickly covered Neil's protesting mouth and laughed nervously. "Stupid kid, he's just playing..."

"Something tells me that this isn't play." Virginia muttered, slowly advancing to the frightened Baskar.

"Oh Guardians..." he began to pray until the voice shouted, "**Contestant number three, please come up!**"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Gallows laughed triumphantly, running past a startled Armengard and into the stage.

"What was that all about..?" Armengard began to ask before Virginia placed her finger on her own lips.

"Later, Armengard." she said. "But if you want to know, come by the backyard and see me beat up the idiot. Then you can ask him." She turned to Neil. "The treatment applies to you too, mister!"

"Oy." Neil groaned. Virginia was short, but she packs quite a punch.

Virginia grinned. "Want to sneak a peek at Gallows' performance?"

"Okay!" the two agreed. They opened the door ever so softly to see what Gallows had in store for the crowd.

The oaf, taking the mike, cleared his throat, and looked at the audience in a dramatic way. He took a deep breath and then..!

"I know a song that gets on everbody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and it goes like this!"

The whole crowd sweatdropped at this choice in song, and a few were gathering tomatoes to use on the idiot.

"I know a song that gets on everbody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and it goes like this!" Gallows belted out, dancing weirdly like a ballerina and shaking his behind like there was no tomorrow.

Virginia sighed. "It was nice knowing you, Gallows..."

"I know a song that gets on everbody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and it goes like this!"

The townsfolk already began to riot, throwing the tomatoes with deadly accuracy at the unsuspecting Gallows. His shrieks were heard even after he ran into Virginia's home, completely covered in fruity goodness.

Everyone, including the people in the waiting room, began to laugh like crazy. Virginia giggled madly. Another great memory...

"**Umm...that was horrible...Contestant number four, please come up! ...Please don't turn up bad, a villager told me they're gonna throw glue to the next one who sings that...**"

Neil paled. "I'm next...I hope they don't glue me..." He then left through the door and into the stage.

Armengard left. "Good luck, Virginia!"

Virginia nodded, seeing her friend go through the door. Now she was by herself surrounded by strangers. She sat down in an available chair and sighed.

-------------------------

Jet made his way through the crowd, his angry eyes seeking Virginia. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, and he had half a mind to drag her out of the contest.

The people weren't responsive of Jet's pushes; instead, they got closer together. Jet growled fiercely as his shoves increased in strength, making the unfortunate people squeak in pain. He didn't care. He only cared about the upcoming talk with Virginia.

He finally reached the room and was about to go in until a guard stopped him.

"You can't go in." The guard said in a deep voice. Jet didn't care. He tried to push his way in. "I said, _you can't come in_."

"I need to talk to someone!" Jet shouted, reaching for the entrance.

"Unless you are a singer, you can't come in!" the guard growled.

Jet stopped his struggles and thought for a moment. "I am a singer."

The guard laughed. "Singer, my ass."

Jet cleared his throat. _This is so embarassing..._

"**I don't know what I'm fighting for**

**or why I have to sceam,**

**I don't know why I instigate**

**and say what I don't mean...**"

The guard was impressed. "Nice voice...you can come in now."

Jet entered the cramped room, looking around for his girl. The women looked at him and the effect was instantaneous.

"Oh my gosh, he's cute!"

Jet groaned as the girls began to nearly choke him as they squeezed his cheeks and stroked his silver hair.

"Leave me alone!" Jet snarled, batting their hands away as he tried to find Virginia.

"**Contestant number five, please come up.**"

Jet caught the sight of a white dress before the person vanished from the door. "**Contestant number five is our own Virginia Maxwell from Boot Hill!**"

Jet's senses kicked in at that announcement. She's about to perform! Pushing his way through the gaggle of girls, Jet got out of the room and past the crowd, wanting to see her and try to delay her singing for the talk. The crowd began to cheer as Virginia made her way through the stage. Jet began to make his way to the edge of the stage, intent on talking with her.The crowd hushed, muttering and whispering to each other. Jet finally made his way to the front center of the stage as the bright lights dimmed out for Virginia.

She looked beautiful, Jet thought fervently. Her sparkling blue eyes, her petite frame, her lustrous hair...awestruck, the silver-haired gunner almost forgot why he wanted to see her.

He saw her looking at his eyes and gave him a small smile before she began to sing.

-------------------

"You!"

"Yes sir?"

"Start the plan. Surround the village!"

"At once!"

------------------------------

Virginia saw Jet making his way through the crowds, and she nearly giggled at how comical he looked. Being quite short, Virginia thought that her Jet looked like he was drowning in a sea of tall people. But when he finally made his way near the front...his eyes were intense, his face a bit flustered. To think that Jet really wanted to see her perform prompted her to smile.

Taking the mike, she took a deep breath, looking deeply into Jet's eyes.

"**I've been watching you awhile  
Since you walked into my life  
Monday morning, when first I heard you speak to me **"

She thought of the fateful day they met on the train, tensions running high as they aimed their guns at each other. They made aquaitances in the end, and, while they headed towards Baskar Village, Jet responded to what she had to say. Well, not kindly, but she felt something new for this treasure-hunter. The crowd ooed and aaed at her beautiful voice.

Shadowy figures began to sneak around the edges of her hometown.

"**I was too shy to let you know  
Much too scared to let my feelings show  
But you shielded me and that was the beginning **"  
The memory of nearly being crushed by the falling ceiling of Serpent's Coils sprang up in her mind. Just when she thought that she was going to die, he saved her. _Jet. _The cold-blooded bastard who didn't care for anyone except himself. Virginia, who already harbored a secret crush on him, felt her feelings towards him deepen. She knew that he wasn't as heartless as he made others believe, and she knew he cared. A few couples in the crowd looked at each other with a secret smile.

Already half the town was surrounded by these figures, and carriages seemed to be placed behind buildings.

"**Now at last we can talk  
In another way  
And though I try, I love you  
It's just so hard to say  
If I only could be strong  
And say the words I feel **"

Everyday Virginia wanted to confess to him about her feelings, but she feared that he would scoff or retaliate or simply ignore her. She feared that her confession would make him leave the team or make himself more distant to her. She decided not to tell him, and settled on caring for him when he needed it most. The crowd began to rock back and forth, but she didn't notice as she looked at the gorgeous amethyst eyes.

Snarls and scratches were muffled by the thick wood of the silent carriages, and more people began to station themselves.

"**My beating heart begins to race  
When I turn to see your face  
I remember that sweet dream  
Which you told to me  
I wanted just to be with you  
So we could make the dream come true  
And you smiled at me and that was the beginning **"**  
**

And now, after hearing his confession that he liked her too, her hidden feelings began to show themselves more. She felt herself feel faint in his presence, and she felt her face grow hot when they made eye contact with each other. She noticed that Jet acted the same way with her too. Some of the girls began to heave out a dreamy sigh as she kept singing in her soft voice.

Silent commands were issued, and the whole village was surrounded. The night threw its dark curtain over the intruders, and they weren't seen.

**  
**"**Tell me what you're thinking of  
Tell me if you love me not  
I have so much I long to ask you  
But now the chance has gone  
When your picture fades each day  
In my heart the memory stays  
Though we rant, you're always smiling  
And I will hold it long**"**  
**

Her song ended, and her voice trailed off in a sweet low tone. The croud cheered and trumpeted at her captivating performance and clapped loudly.

"FREEZE!" a male voice shouted vehemently, and the sounds of gunshots were heard. People screamed and the crowd was gripped with confusion. Jet was nearly crushed against the wall of the stage as people began to move.

"Jet!" Virginia screamed. She raced to the edge of the stage and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up. He slowly began to ascend but the scared villagers pounded their bodies against his, wiggling his arm from her grasp. "Hold on!"

Jet found a small dent on the wall and put his foot into it, using it as a step to get up the stage. With a mighty heave, Virginia pulled Jet's arm, and its owner came sprawling up, falling onto her. They were in an uncomfortable position, Jet on top of Virginia. They both blushed a deep-red until another gunshot brought them back to reality. Some people were running to the exit, but soldiers dressed in white garments aimed their guns at them. A few froze while others tried to take another route. More screamed as monsters began to pour out of the walls of the town, roaring loudly and snapping their jaws at the villagers. Jet and Virginia hugged each other, fearing for their lives.

"Hello there, Shaman." a voice said smoothly. Virginia turned to the entrance of the town, seeing a familiar face.

"Albert." Virginia acknowledged him, nodding curtly. Jet placed his arm around her, staring daggers at him. Albert chuckled.

"He was right." he said in an oily tone.

"Who?" Virginia asked.

Albert snapped his fingers. Virginia's eyes widened as she saw a very familiar face appear before them.

"It can't be..." gasped Virginia.

The lean form of Shane Carradine walked to the side of Albert, his face downcast.

"Hello." he said darkly. Virginia shook her head.

"You...with them?!?!" she choked out. Shane nodded.

"I had no choice!" he cried desperately. "I had to do this, or he would've killed people precious to me! He could have taken out all of Baskar Village!"

"Shane?!?!" screeched out Gallows, making his way to the stage with Jet and Virginia. Shane weakly smiled at his brother.

"Hey, big brother." Shane said, his eyes again directed to the ground.

"That's enough." Albert cut in sharply. He kept his gaze on Virginia. "I have a proposition for you, Shaman."

"The name's Virginia." she said. Albert calling her Shaman made her fell like some animal. He smirked.

"My men surrounded your village, Shaman." he continued. "And I have monsters at my disposal. They can kill them at the snap of my finger." He set his fingers in the appropiate place and raised his arm up in the air.

"What do you want with me?" Virginia asked slowly.

"That is my business. I want you. You in exchange for their safety." Albert stated, looking at the villagers. They were huddled together, the monsters and armed men keeping them at bay.

"I don't trust you." Virginia said. "They are witnesses of your cruelty. I know you wouldn't let them off easily."

He shook his head. "I _promise _them, and you, that I won't harm a hair on them."

"That's just talk." Virginia retorted.

"Please say yes!" Shane pleaded, his eyes red. "Agree with him! If you don't, he'll also kill everyone in Baskar too!"

Virginia was stunned. "What kind of person are you?"

"An ambitious one." he responded. "You for two villages. Make up your mind."

Virginia began to think. Herself for the lives of many people. "The mission..." she said softly to herself. Jet caught what she said.

If she saved them, she'll be at the disposal of the Arkists, and Filgaia would surely die. She can't.

Albert sensed her choice. "You want them to die?"

"No, but I can't turn myself in either." Virginia said slowly.

"Then that means..." began Albert until cries and more gunshots rang out into the sky. Virginia, Jet and Gallows turned to the direction of the shots and saw Clive shooting at the armed men.

"Clive, no!" Virginia screamed. The men fell one by one, death all over their faces.

"Release the monsters!" Albert shouted, snapping his fingers. At once, they began to swarm around the villagers, biting them wherever they could reach. Shrieks were heard everywhere, and people were being devoured by the hungry monsters.

"NNNNOOOOO!!!!" Virginia wailed, falling to her knees. Jet and Gallows sprang into action, fighting the monsters and killing them.

Albert smiled. "Well, I can't do anything about it. You try something, Shaman."

Virginia casted a powerful Refrigerate spell on Albert, making him scream with pain. Roaring out, he sent a wave of white energy at Virginia, which she nimbly dodged. A part of the stadium broke off revealing the ground six feet below. Albert smirked.

"A fight, then?" he crowed, powering up another ball of energy with his fist. Throwing it at Virginia, he screamed, "Then, let's dance!"

--------------------

Pordarges and Saracenians attacked the town, eating them if they got to. One by one the people succumbed to the monsters, their blood staining the town floor.

Seeing all the carnage reminded Jet of the vision he had days before; the burning town, people running away, monsters tearing them apart...the whole area in flames. No sooner that he thought that when flames erupted from in a nearby building, caused by a Jack-o-lantern's Caloric Sphere. The flames caught on the nearby buildings, flames shooting out wildly with intensity. Jet gunned down nearby monsters before they reached fresh victims. Gallows was casting Petrify on many while Clive also gunned down the fearsome creatures. Soon a part of the town was cleared from monsters.

"HELP!" screamed a boy. Jet ran to the kid who held a dead woman. Just like the other vision he had.

"She's...asleep! I...no, she's dead...DEAD! The monster killed her!!" he sobbed, and he ran away from the Drifters.

"They're still coming!!" Gallows roared out. Indeed they did, coming from the carriages, screeching and snarling at the people.

"Something is off! The monsters aren't themselves!" Clive shouted, taking down some Spartois. "This isn't normal behavior!!"

"Arkists must have done something to them!" Gallows agreed, casting Dark Matter on the Pordarges flying around their vicinity. Jet cursed.

Bright lights and whooshing sounds alerted the men at what was happening near the entrance of the town. They saw their leader locked in combat with the enemy's leader. They came to blows at each other, blasts of light versus Refrigerates.

"We need to help..!" Jet cried until a Quox tackled him, its great wings beating on him. The wide mouth snapped open, revealing tiny sharp fangs. Jet immediately shot into its mouth, and the bullets forced themselves through the Quox's thoat. The creature let off its death cry as it collapsed into a heap.

Gallows shot the nearest Spartoi before Extending Dark Matter on Mimics. "Clive, help Ginny!"

With a nod, the sniper made his way to the farm area and reached the fence. Sitting down, he aimed his gun carefully at Albert. Virginia was at the end of her tether, panting. She won't last much longer. Albert was already charging a powerful spell again whilst she crouched on the floor, tiredness all over her face. Praying that his bullet will hit the mark, Clive shot.

-------------------

Virginia felt fatigue creep all over her body. She has been too busy dodging and casting Refigerate. Her strength was being used up. Panting, she fell on all fours. She couldn't move. She saw Albert preparing another attack, and she couldn't bring herself to dodge it.

BANG!

Albert screamed as a bullet pierced his left arm. He fell to the floor, clutching at his wound fiercely.

"Virginia! Are you all right?" shouted Clive at her. She waved her hand to show him she was fine. Her voice was tired from her constant repeat of her Arcana. The soldiers, seeing their wounded leader, made a retreat, taking him away and leaving on horses. They escaped. Breathing deeply, Virginia stood up, and a horrible sight met her gaze. Her whole town was burning. Corpses of people littered the floor. Monsters went berserk as they tore up victims. The monsters...they aren't like this...

Virginia stared, a great sadness and a large void filling her heart. All she did was stare at the suffering people._ Is this happening?_

She began to chant under her breath, and a gentle blue light engulfed her. The monsters, sensing a threat, began to storm their way to the woman. They began to crowd around her and began to bite, scratch, and slam their rough bodies at her. The blue light grew stronger. The survivors stared in awe at the spectacle. A huge explosion of light eradicated the monsters around the maiden. The glow faded. Virginia was standing, and a huge turtle shell popped out of her back. Two horns poked out of her head, and her fingers were webbed. A eerie howl sounded off, and it came from Virginia. Rain began to pour down at once, extinguishing the fires around the village quickly. The monsters still were continuing their attack. A huge roar came from the reptilian Shaman, and a huge tidal wave appeared out of nowhere behind her. The monsters screamed in pain as they died, the force of the impact too much for them. They instantly died. The villagers were unharmed from the onslaught. The bodies of monsters and slain humans washed away, their bodies traveling to the Sea of Sand to be buried off forever.

A ruined town. Many deaths in one day. Virginia let off an anguished cry, making the rain pour out faster. Everyone saw her grief, and they too began to cry in sorrow. The rain was her tears, her howls filled with grief. The blue glow engulfed her again, and the Schurdark fusion ended, leaving behind a weeping maiden.

Jet made his way to the girl. He stared at her. She stared at him. Her eyes shut tight, she lunged at him, crying her heart out. Jet hugged her tightly, his own eyes closing. A single tear was produced from his amethyst eyes. For some reason her body felt heavy and Jet struggled to keep her from falling. He looked at her face. She fainted.

The rain and its dark clouds disappeared, revealing a light pink sky.

_**Seven days to go...**_

----------------

**Author's Note: **Please forgive for the very late update, but I kinda had a lot happening to me, so I let my friends do the work for me. I owe them a lot. This fic was created by them, and I think they did a good job.

**Cloud: **Please review, and we will update soon!

**Kadaj: **It's gonna get sadder, so watch out.

**Virginia: **Thank you Teefa and Co. for the reviews!!


	13. Survivors

Thx Teefa and Co. for their review for this story! And thanks to all the people who are reading this yet are probably too embarrased to review.

**Kadaj: **Please leave any kind of message to let us know that you live or something.

**Tifa: **(munches on taco)

**Disclaimer: **Must we repeat ourselves?

-----------------------

It was early morning. A pink and purple sky proclaimed the coming of the sun. The breathtaking scene didn't catch the eyes of the people in Boot Hill.

Blood was smeared in the framework of buildings that somewhat survived the attack. Injured people were laid in a line and were treated by an enraged Virginia using her Schurdark fusion. She casted Heal on the ones that needed it the most while Clive and the rest of the able ones treated them with food and berries.

A feeling that Virginia never felt before arose again. Hatred. Rage. She wanted to kill. She wanted to destroy the people who did this to her beloved village.

"Virginia!" Aunt Shalte shrieked, running to her amphibian niece. The elder hugged Virginia, careful not to touch one of her spikes. "You're safe!"

"Yeah." Virginia muttered, her eyes downcast. A curious look was on Shalte's face.

"I know this was very saddening, but we can fix this! We can make a better Boot Hill!" said the reasonable woman.

"I know." Virginia replied in a monotone voice. She jerked her head to the ones that needed her attention. "I need to treat the others."

"Oh." Her aunt nodded. "I need to tend to my husband, he's still sick."

"Okay." Virginia said. Her aunt left her, and Virginia made her way to the next patient. His clothes were charred a gray-black, and his hair was completely gray with soot. A big slash on his stomach was visibly seen. Yet he looked familiar...

"You." Virginia said again in a flat voice. The boy looked up. Shane. Anger bubbled up again. He was part of the damned Ark.

"Please, I can explain..." Shane began to stutter out, but Virginia's eyes flashed a dangerous yellow.

"Do I even want to know?" Virginia growled, her claws stretching into a dangerous length. Her yellow eyes had tints of red.

"Yes! There's a reason why I did this..!" Shane pleaded, noticing her bottled-up feelings. His green eyes were wide with fear. A webbed hand gripped his throat, squeezing it tightly.

"GINNY, STOP!" Gallows screamed, wrenching her hand from his brother's neck. She growled again, her head looking the other direction. Virginia didn't want a lecture.

"It was all Shane's fault." Virginia said coldly.

Gallows bit his lip. "Let's hear his side of the story, please!" He nudged Shane with his elbow. "Explain."

Shane, holding his neck, looked down at the floor. "They wanted me to spy on you. They said that if I spied on you and gave them information, I'll get good Gella. I refused, not wanting you to get caught. Things got nasty because they threatened me with destroying Baskar. I consented, and I spied on you ever since."

Virginia's glare on him softened slightly. A memory sparked up in her mind. "You poisoned my food."

Shane nodded. "They wanted me to kill you off. They said that you were the head of the group, so killing you will make the others useless."

Gallows' eyes widened in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?!?!"

The young Baskar shut his eyes tight. "They could've killed me and the whole village if I told!" he wailed. "They spied on me to keep me in check!"

"Man, at least a cryptic message or something..." Gallows trailed off. The two men were alerted by a small growl. "Virginia? What's wrong?" Gallows asked.

"They're gonna pay." Virginia stated. A blue light surrounded her and she was back in her human form. Her fists clenched. "They're gonna pay dearly."

"Virginia? Take a few breaths, calm down, and get that idea outta your head." Gallows said slowly.

"Why?" she asked. "Why shouldn't I take revenge for the victims here?"

"Because you would be at the same level as the Arkists." Shane answered quietly.

Virginia was silent for a moment. "Are there any other people needing my help?" she asked, then turned to Shane. "Apart from you?"

"Leader, we are nearly done." replied Clive, walking towards them. Virginia nodded.

"That's good to hear, I'm beat." she whispered. Shane noticed her pale face.

"Go to sleep, you need your rest." Shane suggested.

Virginia shook her head. "After I heal you." Taking out some Heal Berries, she began to fix him up.

--------------------

"Thank you, mister!" piped up a small child, rubbing his bandaged leg. "I feel lots better!"

Jet smiled a little. "Good to hear, squirt." he said, moving on to the next victim. "Shalte?"

The old woman looked at Jet and gave a wry smile. "Hello, Jet dear."

"Where are you hurt?" he asked, taking our his bandages and some berries. Jet made a mental note to thank Florina for their abundant supply.

"It's just a scratch." Shalte fussed, slightly smacking Jet's hand from her wound on her arm.

Jet scoffed. "_Just a scratch? _That's a deep wound!" He quickly began to squirt some Heal Berry juice over the wound. Shalte gasped as the liquid made contact, and she saw her wound sealing quickly.

"This stings a bit..." Shalte groaned as her wound finished sealing.

"Well, it's a small price to pay to heal." Jet said, tearing a bit of the bandage roll and applying it to her arm with ease.

"I'm worried for Virginia." Shalte said softly. Jet looked at her.

"Why?" he asked.

"I know how she feels in different kinds of situations. And I know how she feels now. She's angry." Her eyes darted from his. "Too angry."

"If I know Virginia, she's gonna bottle it up or simply push the feeling from her mind." Jet stated. "You don't have to be worried."

A smile crept up her face. "Okay. Since you are her boyfriend, I'll trust your judgement."

To her surprise, he didn't blush or act fidgety, only smiled. "I'll be helping the others."

Shalte nodded. "I'm going to see what some of us can salvage from this mess."

Jet saw that nearly everyone was healed or at least patched up. Most of the rubble was cleared and piled up, leaving enough space so they can walk around. Amethyst eyes absorbed the way Boot Hill looked like. It was brown and dead, just like the wasteland. No more greenery. No more life, except for the lucky ones who had survived.

_Gonna take a miracle to fix this place up_, Jet thought. _Gotta find Virginia. I still want to know about the mission._

Just as soon as he thought that when she appeared walking among the rubble, searching through the burnt wood for goods.

"Virginia!" Jet called out. Her eyes caught his, and she smiled. Just a little.

"Jet!" she answered half-heartily. "Are you okay?"

"Yup, peachy-keen." he said.

Virginia giggled. "_Peachy-keen?_ That's new."

"Is there a problem with that?" Jet asked with a mock-hurt voice.

Virginia shook her head. "Nope, it makes you sound cute and adorable and huggable and sweet and..."

Jet sweatdropped. "I get it!"

Virginia turned to the pile of wood before her. "Okay, Mister Peachy, do you need something?"

Jet grew serious. "The mission." he said quietly.

Virginia looked at him. "The what?"

"The mission." Jet repeated.

She bit her lip. "Oh, it's nothing inportant."

His eyebrow raised. "Yeah. It's so unimportant that your life won't be at stake and didn't let your friends know about it."

Virginia clapped her hands together and beamed at him. "Yup! Since we reached some sort of understanding..." she reached for the pile of wood. "...I must continue my job!"

Jet sighed. "You know what I mean."

Virginia, still smiling, made her way to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Come on, Mister Peachy, don't make a fuss about this silly little something, okay?"

Jet just gave her a serious look that made Virginia's pretense fall. "Shalte told me about this mission and how it made you think about your life. Why didn't you let us know in the first place? We could help you."

Virginia placed a hand on his cheek and sighed. "The reason I am doing this mission is because I can do this myself. Your help won't be necessary, Jet."

"Are you sure?" he asked. Virginia nodded.

"How about this? If I do need help, you'll be the first to know, okay?" Virginia said.

"Deal." Jet agreed. "I'll see what I can find in all this junk, 'kay?"

"Thank you." Virginia said, beginning to move the trash to find anything.

A large pile of things caught his attention, and he too began the tedious work to find something useful.

-------------------------

"We are going to call this a day." Clive proclaimed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Virginia wiped a bit of sweat from her brow and stood up from her spot.

"Anyone find anything good?" Gallows asked out loudly.

"They're all (cough) monster items!" responded Tesla. He handed a bag to Gallows, who immediately began to search its contents.

"He's right!" Gallows said in awe. "Cait's Boots, Amulets, Talismans, Baselards, Heart Leafs...you can make good Gella outta this!"

Clive also saw the goods. "This can make you just enough money for supplies and food for about a month for everyone. Enough time to remotely fix the town up."

"That's good news." Virginia muttered. _At least they won't starve to death._

"Everyone is tired." Armengard announced. "We need to sleep. And someone needs to keep on guard duty."

"Guard duty? Why?" Shalte asked.

"Because the town isn't here anymore. The monsters would just treat it as the wasteland." Shane said, limping a bit from the pain in his abdomen.

Neil stretched his arms a bit. "We don't have to. All there is around these parts are Bogles and Cobs. Nothing we can't handle."

"Still, what about if those monsters decide to rally up and take over this? We need a guard watch to alert us of any possible danger." Armengard paused. "Anyways, nearly everyone here can't fight, and the only fighters we have are Virginia, Clive, Jet, Gallows, and you, Neil."

His face fell. "Oh...you have a point there."

Armengard turned to the crowd of people. "Who wants to take on guard duty?"

Clive raised his hand. "I shall take on the job first."

"Thank you." Armengard said to the sniper. "Okay everyone, we cleared out most of the rubble so find a comfortable spot to sleep in. We need to continue fixing this place up tomorrow."

And with that said, the people began to sleep on the hard earth for some well-deserved rest. Virginia, however, remained awake. She sat by the graveyard, which miraculously survived the ambush. She sat next to Werner's epitaph, talking to her Guardians.

_Do you really want revenge? _Raftina asked the girl.

Virginia nodded. _Yeah. I want them to pay for what they did._

Celisdue intervened. _Violence is not the answer! We..I mean, you need to work out a treaty or something with them._

_Didn't you hear them?!?! _Virginia said exasperately._They wanted me for everyone's lives. I think they need me for something._

_..She's right, you know. The Arkists know about her powers, and they did want her when they ambushed the village. _Schurdark muttered.

_If I get rid of them, then they'll stop terrorizing and doing bad things to everyone! _Virginia exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed. _And I'm also enraged at what they did to my innocent hometown._

_So you want to take them out? _Raftina asked.

_Yes. I really do. _Virginia answered.

_Okay, first of all, look at your mediums. _Celisdue said. _I really can't do much in terms of destruction. Raftina is only a healer and the only assets she has are her wings, armor, and sword. Schurdark only sends tidal waves and I don't think that would devastate the Arkists. In terms of the offensive, we can't help._

Virginia thought about the problem. _Hmm...devastate...Devastate...how about I use Moor Gault?_

_Sounds like a great idea. _Schurdark agreed. _Wings and a fiery wrath will help out greatly._

_And if some others survive? _Raftina asked. Virginia thought some more.

_For the runners, I can use Grudiev and bar their path. Or bury them to the ground. _Virginia replied.

_And the last medium you'll take would be..? _Schurdark prompted.

_My last medium would be you, Raftina._ Virginia said. _With your healing powers and your sword, I might be able to personally slay Albert. _Her eyes shone with anger. _He started all of this, and I'll gladly finish it._

_With that said..._Celisdue thought out, _do what you need to do. Then you can have peace for the rest of your days._

Virginia ignored the irony in her words, and stood up. Her body was numb from staying in the same position all this time. It was still night, meaning that the enemy is peacefully slumbering.

"Okay, Jet has Moor Gault, and Gallows has Grudiev. The mediums must be in the pack, so I can sneak them off tonight." Virginia muttered to herself. She looked at the sleeping faces of the villagers and knew that something big was needed to wake them up. Silently she prowled towards Gallows, who was fast asleep. There it was, inside his coat. Grudiev. Grabbing hold of the medium, she pulled it out slowly. Virginia froze when he snorted and moved a bit.

"Hmm...yeah baby, work it..." Gallows snored, a big grin on his lips. Virginia flushed a deep red.

_Ugh. Men..._

_You said it. _Raftina muttered. _Guess who I had and have to work with. Sexually starved men._

_I pity you. _Virginia thought as she finally managed to get the Earth medium from it's place in Gallows' jacket. _Now it leaves Moor Gault, who is with...Jet._

A frown set on her face. Okay, sneaking off something from Jet was a bit weird, but it had to be done for revenge. He probably is by the graveyard. He usually was seen there. Again with quiet footsteps she made her way to the graveyard. And sure enough, she saw silver hair lying on the floor. Jet seemed to be fast asleep as well, hair in tumbles and eyes shut. Moor Gault was inside his poncho, safely tucked in. That was the only medium visible, which made the young Shaman wonder about where his other mediums were. Shrugging a bit, she began to reach into the pouch and grabbed the medium, pulling it slowly so as not to alert him. His fists balled up slightly, and just as she pulled out the Fire medium when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Virginia sucked in her breath at this sudden action. Jet was still asleep, and his hand was clutching at hers quite painfully.

_This isn't good. _Virginia though fearfully. _He's not letting go._

_Umm, why don't you that thing that hypnotists or something do? _Celisdue suggested.

_What? _Virginia asked.

_Whisper into his ear and command him to do stuff. Persuade him into letting go while he's in a dream state or something._

_Okay..._

Virginia kneeled on the floor and shifted her face next to his. Her lips were just next to his ears. Hoo boy.

"Jet?" she whispered. She noticed his eyes closed a bit tighter. Uh oh, quieter whispers!

"...jet?" she barely hissed. His eyes untightened. Maybe a good sign...

"You are holding someone very tightly and advises you to let go."

He groaned a little and shifted his head so his cheek touched hers. "...Ginny..?"

Virginia blushed slightly from the light contact they had. "Err...no, I am not Ginny..."

"...Werner..?" he slurred out, his voice in a dreamlike stupor. Virginia raised her eyebrow. Do I sound like a man to you?

"No, not Werner either..." Virginia breathed out.

"... ... ...Daddy..?" he squeaked out. Virginia's eyes nearly popped out. His dad?!?!

"... ... ...why'd you leave?" Jet sqeaked, his voice sounding very childish. His grip on her hand got tighter. "...why did you leave mommy and me? I was a good boy!"

"I'm not Elliot, Jet!" Virginia whispered anxiously. Jet acting and sounding like a child began to freak her out.

"...you lie, daddy. You lie!" His eyes shut tight again, he quickly let go of Virginia's hand as though as it was on fire. "Bastard! Daddy, you bastard!" he slurred angrily, his body twitching.

Virginia was in shock. What was he dreaming? What did she do to him? Not able to handle this anymore, she ran, her eyes still wide with shock. She had what she needed, now she can exact revenge! But what happened just there..?

Mediums in hand, she headed towards the exit of Boot Hill. The anger surged through her again, feeling like a surge of heat through her body.

Pulling out Moor Gault, she began to chant, her body glowing fiery red. Wings replace her arms and talons replace her feet. She became an exact replica of the Fire Guardian. Except, her eyes were just as red as her body. And the flames on her wings were brighter. And her whole body radiated rage.

Spreading her wings, she took off as quietly as she could, making her way over the fields to the left of the Southfarm Station, going by Gob's Hideout and out over the Sea of Sand.

They'll get it. They'll get it big time.

-------------------------

A sleepy Arkist soldier was busy at post, dozing off near the entrance to the Ark of Destiny. His gun was slung over his back. He didn't expect anyone to come.

"Hey, nothing yet?" asked another fellow guard.

The man shrugged. "Nope. Not even a Kobold to entertain me."

"That sucks. Well, it's mighty cold out here, and the moon's still out. Nothing will come at this time."

"Well then. Uh, don't know how to put this, but do you ever get the feelin' that something bad's gonna happen?"

"...Now that I think about it, I got shivers up my spine. Maybe it's the cold."

"And isn't that a little ball of flame heading our way?" the guard asked, pointing in front of him. The other peered and indeed spotted a tiny dot in the horizon, and it was very bright.

"Wonder what's causing it?" the man who looked over the horizon said.

"Whatever it is, doesn't concern us. I still need to keep watch, so, go back inside and protect the main hallway."

"Aye aye, sir." the man said, and went back into the Ark.

The sleepy guard cast one look at the tiny dot, which has grown a bit. He almost swore that he heard a shriek in the distance. _Okay, no more beer for me._

Shrugging off the omnious dot, he began to doze off again. _It's not like the dot's gonna kill us or something. _

--------------------

**Kadaj: **Aeris didn't type the story, Tifa and I did. The rest were too busy doing some sort of 'project'. Not school related, but still.

**Tifa: **Has to do with soda, don't ask me. Anyways, we tried to copy her writing style and wanted to continue the story all proper-like and stuffs. So please review and tell us how we did!

**Kadaj: **The idiots owe us major tacos for this...


	14. Capture

**Author's Note: **Well, this is the next chappie, and we hope you enjoy.

**Sephiroth: **Yes, the story will become tender later, but for now it's all violence, angst, and sadness.

**Kadaj: **(giggles)

**Disclaimer: **For the fourteenth time, we do not own Wild Arms, Media Vision does!

-------------------

_There they are! _thought the enraged girl as she flew gracefully towards the small island. She smirked. Sitting ducks, they are. Even the guard is dozing off! With a burst of speed she tore through the desert winds and finally reached her destination, fiery wings beating wildly.

"What the hell..?" began to murmur the guard until he saw the great winged bird flapping wildly at the Ark, fire bursting from its wings. A scream was heard but ended as the flames of hatred consumed him. His charred remains scattered in the night winds as the great fire Guardian kept pumping fire into the Ark.

The screams of the people reached Virginia's ears, and it sounded like music to her ears. Landing on the entrance, she shrieked out her arrival. Let them come, she was ready to kill and eradicate these filthy vermin.

-------------------

"Master, a being of fire is destroying our temple!!" screamed a soldier, out of breath. Albert's eyes widened.

"Impossible...It's that Shaman bitch!" he spat out, rising out of his throne.

"What do we do, sir?!?!" shouted another soldier. The leader bit his lip.

"An all-out assault should do the trick!!" he barked. "Shoot her down!"

------------------

Virginia's wings ruffled with excitement as her flames began to melt the floor beneath her. She roared out again. _Come out here, scum! _And sure enough, they came, ARM's in hand. She howled, banging her wings at the floor. Fiery Rage was casted, and the soldiers burned to a crisp, their ashes staining the white temple gray. Madness setting in on her mind, Virginia shrieked with laughter. _Bastards, come out here!! You killed innocents, I kill you!!_

"Why are you doing this?!?!" shouted a nearby soldier. A growl was heard from the great beast of fire.

_You destroyed my village! _Virginia roared, sending that thought to the coming soldiers. The humans twitched in agony, clutching at their heads as the powerful thought reached their heads. Virginia leered at them. _I want revenge!! Killing you is revenge enough!!_

A female soldier looked at Virginia in disbelief. "How can you say that, this is madness!!!"

Virginia casted Cremate on the girl, burning her to a crisp. Everyone gasped as their comrade burned to the ground, bits of bone stuck in the dust. "Anyone else who wants to defy me?" Virginia said slowly, looking into everyone's eyes. They were paralyzed, and didn't move an inch. Fear was evident, and Virginia gloated at their action.

"FIRE!!" screamed a soldier. Bullets cascaded all over the Shaman, the sounds of machine ARM's echoing throughout the entrance. As if it was on slow motion, Virginia saw the bullets about to make contact on her. White-hot flames shot out from her body and surrounded her. The bullets, which were a split second from piercing her body, melted into gray blobs and fell harmlessly to the floor.

"No way..." said a soldier in awe.

"LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!!!" roared out another soldier, and the lot ran to the exit. Virginia saw the little people running, and she shrugged her wings. _I've got bigger fish to fry..._

Knowing that the main hall was too small to fly into, she began to defuse from the fire Guardian. The red glow faded away, revealing the young woman. Grabbing her pistols, she walked down the fiery path. An insane grin was plastered on her face. She was ready to kill.

----------------------

The cameras in Albert's room began to crackle with electricity, and some had static screens. It was unbearably hot too. Albert grinned. All that power, just from one person...

"The power is being used against me.." he mused. "I guess this is my bitter end..."

"Sir, you gotta get out of here! She's coming!" screamed Marty, gripping his ARM tightly. Albert shook his head.

"I'll try to talk." he stated. Marty's eyes grew wide. "I will try to persuade the Shaman on sparing us."

"What the hell..?" Marty murmured. He shook his head, his ARM shaking as well. "Sir, don't think of such things! You must get out, or you will die!!"

"Our forces are nearly wiped out!" shouted a soldier who came barging into the room. "Some ran away! The others have their hands full taking care of the girl!"

"A girl?" questioned Albert. "She must have transformed back..."

"In any case, it's a lost cause." said the soldier urgently. "You must flee, or she'll kill you!"

"_You _must flee." said Albert calmly. "It's me whom she wants."

"But sir..!" pleaded the soldiers, but Albert held his hand high to silence them.

"Run. This isn't going to come in my favor, but I must face her." Albert said quietly. "She wants me because I destroyed everything she loved and held dear. She wants me because I made her life a living hell for the past year. I guess...this is karma." Albert slowly closed his eyes. "I did something to the young woman and her friends, and now, karma sought out to bite me back." He turned to his soldiers. "Flee. This probably will be my last command to you."

"...Yes, sir." they said in defeat. They trudged towards the exit of the room, heads bowed and backs slumped.

Loneliness and the sounds of alarms blaring and camera static kept him company. He heard gunshots from the hallway that led to his room. Albert opened his eyes.

"I'm ready."

------------------

Virginia shot through the many soldiers that barred her path. She evaded the incoming attacks with ease, returning fire at the Arkists. Blood rained around her, staining her pink dress red. The smooth metal floor became slick with blood, making the going a bit tough for the soldiers. Virginia used the slippery floor with ease, attacking and evading easier while sliding. Everyone was easily overpowered.

_Just a few more steps..._Virginia thought triumphantly, her smirk becoming deeper.

She finally entered the room, the bright light momentarily blinding her. Blue eyes searching, she then found Albert at the top standing up. He was expecting her, so it seemed.

"Hello, Virginia." said Albert, nodding to her direction.

Chest heaving from all the fighting, Virginia glared at the man in front of her. "Save the formality, I know you hate me."

Albert nodded yet again. "Yes, but I know what you are after. You want to kill me because of what I did to your village, correct?"

"Absolutely." said Virginia in a toxic tone. Her ARM's were drawn directly at him, fingers at the ready.

"Will you at least let me explain why I did all this to you?" he said calmly.

Virginia growled deeply. "Because you thought I killed your leader Lamium. Well, we have NOT laid a single finger on that man!"

This time Albert smirked. "Liar. And what I meant by the question I asked is that I want to explain the reason why I have been doing things to you to take you out. Firstly, it was because I wanted revenge against killing Lamium. Shane fed you the poison to kill you, but you came out alive. After finding out what you are, we devised a new plan." Albert began to slowly make his way towards the maiden, walking around the podium and to the stairs. Virginia tightened her hold on her dual pistols, still aiming at him.

"We have decided to use you for a plan that could change the world. We could use you to do something that our ancestors have tried again and again." Albert was now in front of her. "Rejuvinate the planet."

Virginia, still aiming her twin guns at him, was completely gripped by surprise and shock. That's what she wanted to do, and now he comes along to do the same thing!

"Why do you want to do that?" Virginia asked slowly, her eyes widening slightly. "I know there's a catch somewhere."

Albert just kept staring at her. "Of course there's a reason. If I rejuvinate the planet, the people of Filgaia will come to respect and honor the Ark of Destiny and we will be held in high regard. Then the will of everyone will be at my mercy."

Virginia shook her head, even lowering her pistols. "Crazy talk. Assuming that you would actually pull off your plan."

He rubbed at his temple. "I will. All I have to do is take you to the Sacrificial Altar and kill you."

"How come you sound so confident in doing this?" Virginia asked, noticing his calm voice.

A sharp pain swept through Virginia's body, and she felt it come from her neck. Soon darkness took over and she felt herself fall. A soldier came from behind, holding a dart gun. Albert grinned. Other soldiers crowded around the fallen girl, tying and gagging her.

"We wouldn't abandon you, sir!" said the two soldiers who were with him during Virginia's attack.

"Abandon the Ark of Destiny." commanded Albert, walking to the exit. "We must head over to the Sacrificial Altar. We also must put a notice in all the towns about our plan. They should know that we will commence the healing of the planet."

---------------------------

Jet began to wake, stretching his limbs and yawning. It was a tiring day, working to find some goods while healing everyone. It was a little late, the sky already lost most of the pinkish tinge that announced dawn. _Probably around ten, _he thought, standing up. His thoughts suddenly returned to his nightmare. His father...and the unexpected appearance of the planet Filgaia near the end of the dream. _Why would my father and the planet be together in the same dream?_ He suddenly remembered Halle's words of dream sight. Maybe these two things had something in common.

"Good morning, Jet." said Clive, snapping Jet from his thoughts.

"Good morning to you too." he replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I need to ask you something. Have you seen Virginia?" Clive asked.

"I just barely woke up." Jet said. "Did something happen?"

"Gallows announced that he doesn't have Grudiev. He has Celisdue instead. Since Virginia had Celisdue, she must have replaced her medium with his." Clive stated, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Jet nodded. "Why would she do that, though? I mean, Grudiev doesn't have any healing properties, so there isn't any use for him while helping others."

Clive shrugged. "Gallows said that he had Grudiev all day yesterday, so the only time Virginia could have replaced the Guardians was at night. Which makes me wonder, why did she replace it while everyone slept?"

"One can only guess." Jet finally said. "Do you have any Guardian replaced?"

Clive shook his head. "All of them are accounted for. How about you?"

Jet looked into his jacket and checked the inner pockets. He noticed that one of his Guardians were replaced too.

"Hey! Moor Gault was replaced by Schurdark." He closed his eyes in thought. "Strange..."

"I wonder what Virginia was up to." Clive said, walking towards the center of Boot Hill.

Jet followed, not understanding what happened any more than his fellow comrade. Guess he must ask her.

_**Six days to go...**_

-------------------------------

**Author's Note: **Really sorry, but I had a huge case of writer's block and an unhealthy dose of responsibility in my family.

**Kadaj: **Consider yourselves lucky, at least she updated.

**Cloud: **Ha! Cliffie! (shifty eyes)

**Sephiroth: **Well, after this chapter it will be a countdown. So that means that the story has six chapters left.

**Tifa: **PLEASE review, we know you read this story, we check our account nearly each day!! Teefa and Co. and narukaze deserve a nice big cookie for reviewing!

**Aeris: **Later then! (explodes)


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